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Section 


HT11-I7 

SS7 


The  Slavery  of  To-Day 


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https://archive.org/details/slaveryoftodayorOOswan 


A 


The 

Slavery  of 


or, 

The  Present  Position  of 
The  Open  Sore  of  Africa 


Charles  A.  Swan 


Glasgow : Pickering  & Inglis,  Printers  and  Publishers 
London  : Alfred  Holness,  14  Paternoster  Row,  E.C. 
New  York  : D.  T.  Bass,  54  West  Twenty-Second  St.,  City 

Anif  macj'  he  ordered  through  most  Booksellers 


Unchristian  thought!  on  what  pretence  soe’er 
Of  right  inherited,  or  else  acquired ; 

Of  loss,  or  profit,  or  what  plea  you  name. 

To  buy  and  sell,  to  barter,  whip,  and  hold 
In  chains  a being  of  celestial  make ; 

Of  kindred  form,  of  kindred  faculties. 

Of  kindred  feelings,  passions,  thoughts,  desires ; 
Born  free,  and  heir  of  an  immortal  hope. 
Thought  villanous,  absurd,  detestable  ! 

Unworthy  to  be  harboured  in  a friend ! 


Pollok’s  Cottrse  of  Time. 


PREFACE. 


'^HE  information  herein  given  will  be  found  to 
be  additional  and  complementary  to  nearly  all 
that  has  been  previously  written  on  the  subject. 

Very  little  reference  has  been  made  to  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  natives  work  on  the  planta- 
tions, for,  if  the  methods  of  recruiting  are  wrong, 
nothing  is  right. 

There  is  also  very  little  reference  to  International 
Laws,  Conventions,  &c.,  for,  even  if  these  did  not 
exist,  all  liberty-loving  men  and  women,  whether 
English,  American,  Portuguese,  or  of  any  other 
nationality,  and  especially  Christian  men  and 
women,  should  rise  up  and  say  that  slavery,  no 
matter  by  what  name  it  is  called,  must  be  put 
down  at  any  cost. 

What  I have  written  is  absolutely  without  feeling 
of  any  kind  against  the  Portuguese,  as  such,  for 
among  them  I have  some  of  my  staunchest  friends, 
and  the  proof  of  this  is  that  my  present  principal 
occupation  is  to  give  them  the  light  of  the  glorious 
truth  of  the  Gospel,  which  has  done  so  very  much 
for  all  the  great  Protestant  nations  of  the  world. 


X. 


PREFACE 


My  conviction  is  that  if  the  Portuguese  nation 
could  be  convinced  of  the  fact  that  slavery,  pure 
and  simple,  exists  in  any  of  her  Colonies,  the  people, 
led  on  by  the  brave  and  devoted  men  now  in  the 
front  of  the  political  fight  for  freedom — such  as 
is  enjoyed  by  the  foremost  nations  of  the  world — 
would,  without  the  interference  of  any  outside 
Power,  rise  up  and  demand  justice  for  the  down- 
trodden black  man,  wherever  he  is  crushed  and 
bartered  like  an  article  of  commerce  in  her  over- 
sea possessions. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  Portuguese  do 
not  look  upon  the  black  as  a social  pest,  as 
people  do  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  for  there 
are  many  educated  Africans  mixing  in  good 
Portuguese  society,  and  inter-marriages  are  not 
at  all  uncommon. 

Information  of  the  contents  of  this  book  has 
been  laid  before  the  British  Government  in  the 
hope  that  they  will  take  definite  steps  to  induce 
the  Portuguese  Government  to  see  that  its  laws 
are  truly  carried  out  in  its  Colonies. 

I have  not  incorporated  anything  relating  to  my 
early  extended  experiences  of  the  slave  trade,  for  I 
wish  that  the  evidence  presented  to  the  public 
should  be  of  as  recent  date  as  possible. 

CHARLES  A.  SWAN. 

82  Eltham  Road,  Lee, 

London,  S.E. 


INDEX. 


Points  of  Inquiry 

“ Modern  Slavery  ” 

Anti-British  Feeling 
Effects  of  Living  on  Coast 

Unsolicited  Testimony  

Missionary  Statements  

First  Servifal  Spoken  To 
Slaves  from  Nearer  Coast 
Slaves  Brought  by  By-Paths 

Notes  Made  on  Journey 

Native  Attempts  to  Sell  His  Sister 
Slavery  and  Polygamy  ... 

Redeeming  Slaves  

Slaves  Addressed  to  Coast  Firms 
Effects  of  Illegitimate  Traffic 

A Chequered  History  

Slave  Woman’s  Sad  Story 
Abuse  of  Power  by  Official 
Natives’  Dread  of  Authorities  ... 

A Complicated  Case  

How  Natives  have  to  “ Redeem  ” 
Unsuccessful  Attempt  to  Escape 
Affection  Among  Natives... 

Slaves  for  Life  ! 

A Gang  of  Slaves 

Suffering  for  Relatives’  Crimes  ! 
Rum  and  Base  Injustice  ... 
Recapture  of  Liberated  Slaves  ... 

Child  for  Is.  4d 

Disgusting  Treatment  of  a Woman 


rAGK 

17 

19 

22 

23 

26 

27 

34 

35 

37 

38 

44 

47 

49 

52 

54 

57 

61 

64 

67 

70 

76 

79 

83 

85 

86 

88 

91 

97 

103 

103 


INDEX 


PAOB 


xii. 

An  Escape  from  Slavery 106 

Difficult  to  Protect  Falsely-Contracted  Slaves  ...  109 

A Boy-Slave's  Troubles 110 

Woman  and  Child  for  Two  Small  Bags  of  Corn  ...  113 

Difficulty  of  Retaining  Freedom  even  when  Granted  113 

A Child  for  a Waterproof  Coat ! 119 

17  Slaves,  2 Oxen,  1 Pig,  and  3 Loads  for  1 Woman  121 

Sold  by  His  Own  Father 124 

Powder  for  Slaves  125 

Shameful  Cruelty  to  a Woman-Slave 127 

A Slave's  Own  Story  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  129 

An  Unfortunate  Father  Redeems  His  Son  132 

Hung  by  Feet  and  Whipped  135 

More  Buying  and  Selling  138 

Death  Preferred  to  Slavery  147 

My  Camera  Divines ! 149 

Slaves  on  Steamers,  and  their  Statements  ...  ...  152 

Cruel  Treatment  of  a Girl  157 

Adulterer  Demands  Two  Slaves ! ...  ...  ...  160 

Nine  Slaves  Protected  161 

Not  An  Uncommon  Sight  165 

Once  a “ Contracted  ” Labourer  always  a Labourer  ...  166 

Slaves  on  Steamers  Again  169 

Testimony  from  the  Interior  172 

300  Slaves  in  One  Caravan  176 

Mortality  of  Slaves  on  Journey 178 

No  Diminution  of  the  Trade  ...  ...  ...  ...  181 

White  Traders  Ousting  Native  Dealers  182 

Rebel  Soldiers  as  Slave  Dealers  184 

Credit  System  Conducive  to  Slavery 187 

Another  Shameful  System  of  Supply 190 

“ We  must  have  Slaves — get  us  Slaves  ! ” 194 

Conclusions  197 

The  Crux  of  the  Question  198 

A Remedy  Suggested  201 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAOB 

Dead  slave  wfith  shackles  for  hands  and  feet  Frontispiece 
Two  slaves  being  sent  to  a firm  at  Catumbella  Do. 
Skulls  and  bleached  bones — a common  sight  on  slave 

routes 20 

Slave  woman  with  shackle,  and  man  in  charge  ...  28 

Slaves  with  shackles  on  the  way  to  the  coast 28 

Shackles — 92  were  picked  up  in  one  day  40 

Shackles  on  tree,  single  and  double  specimens  ...  40 

Slave  who  had  his  hands  burnt  and  was  turned  adrift 

as  useless  40 

Slave  woman  rescued  from  her  inhuman  brother  ...  48 

Complicated  case  of  slave-dealing  48 

Native  woman  who  was  humbled  by  those  who  ought 

to  have  been  her  protectors 48 

Slave  who  escaped,  but  whose  wife  was  sold 48 

The  only  three  left  out  of  fifty  liberated  slaves  ...  64 

Boy  slave,  and  man  who  bought  him  for  1/4  64 

A gang  of  slaves  from  the  interior  64 

Ukuahamba — a sad  tale  of  superstition  and  slavery  ...  80 

Nanjila — bound  to  a decomposing  body  80 

Sepumuma,  bought  for  a keg  of  rum  and  some  cloth  ...  80 

Musole  and  child,  sold  for  two  small  bags  of  corn  ...  80 

Happy  mother  and  child  who  escaped  from  slave  dealer  96 
Liberated  slaves  who  run  great  risks  of  being  recaptured  96 
A 


XIV. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Ndiana,  slave  girl  who  was  frequently  hung  up  by  the  page 


feet  and  whipped  112 

Boy  slave  redeemed  by  an  Englishman  for  £2  ...  112 

Slave  boy  and  his  disfigured  father  who  fell  into  the  fire  112 
Baby  thrown  into  bush  to  die  by  runaway  slaves  ...  128 
Chitengi,  rescued  by  the  Missionaries  ...  ...  ...  128 
Adalia,  given  as  a pledge  to  a trader  by  her  husband  ...  128 

Slaves  working  in  fields  at  Bih4 132 

Slave  boy  and  his  price  by  his  side  132 

Mutombo,  felled  with  a stool  by  his  white  master  and 

cast  out  to  die 140 

Two  slaves  dragged  from  Missionary’s  side  into  captivity  140 
Ngusu,  slave  boy  with  mark  of  master’s  cruelty  on 

his  head  140 

A group  of  slaves,  male  and  female  144 

Man  who  is  taking  a mother  and  child  to  sell  ...  ...  144 

Slave  route  from  Ondulu  country  to  Novo  Redondo  ...  144 

Woman  slaves  on  s.s.  “ Ambaca,”  bound  for  San  Thome  160 
Embarking  slaves  at  Novo  Redondo — climbing  up 

ship’s  ladder 160 

Slaves  disembarking  off  San  Thom4  176 

Slaves  on  steamer,  looking  toward  San  Thome  ...  176 

Men  slaves  on  board  s.s.  “Ambaca,”  bound  for  San 

Thom4  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  192 

Island  of  San  Thome  as  viewed  from  the  sea  ...  ...  192 

Landing  stage  at  San  Thom6  192 


INTRODUCTION. 


JNFORMATION  creates  interest,  and  informa- 
tion concerning  practices  which  bring  untold 
misery  upon  helpless  human  beings  must  surely 
arouse  all  right-minded  people.  The  slave  trade  is 
generally  looked  upon  as  a thing  of  the  past,  and 
many  are  surprised  when  told  that  it  is  still  a most 
dreaded  reality  in  some  parts  of  Central  Africa. 
If  Government  officials  are  deputed  to  look  into 
such  a matter,  the  fact  is  announced;  they  are 
expected,  and  their  object  is  known;  consequently 
the  evidences  they  seek  are  carefully  kept  out  of 
sight  by  those  whose  interest  it  is  not  to  allow  the 
truth  to  be  brought  to  light.  And,  moreover,  since 
ordinary  roads  to  the  coast  have  become  more 
frequented,  this  terrible  traffic  has  been  diverted  to 
less-known  paths,  which  are  supposed  to  be  safe 
against  intrusion. 

Mr.  Swan’s  knowledge  of  Central  Africa  enabled 
him  to  enter  some  of  these  hidden  paths,  and  his 
acquaintance  with  the  languages  of  large  districts 
led  to  his  obtaining  from  those  he  met  in  them 
information  which  no  one  could  have  gained  who 


XVI. 


INTRODUCTION 


had  to  speak  by  interpretation.  Some  of  this 
information  is  given  in  the  following  pages,  which 
will  be  read  with  painful  interest  by  those  who 
have  the  heart  to  feel  for  men  and  women  who 
suffer  wrongs  which  no  language  can  fully 
describe.  Those  who  know  Mr.  Swan  can  assure 
his  readers  that  there  is  here  no  exaggeration,  but  a 
simple  tale  of  what  he  saw  on  his  journeyings. 

It  is  important  to  remember  that  this  is  no 
question  of  agitation  against  a Government,  be- 
cause the  laws  of  Portugal  are  as  truly  against 
traffic  in  human  beings  as  our  own;  but  it  is 
against  the  breaking  of  the  laws  by  many,  and  the 
connivance  at  this  by  others,  that  servants  of  Christ 
feel  so  strongly.  If,  therefore,  the  people  of  this 
land,  and  those  of  other  countries  are  moved  to 
withstand  the  cruel  practices  so  largely  carried  on 
in  Angola,  they  will  only  be  helping  the  Portuguese 
Government  to  enforce  its  own  laws,  to  which  all 
Protestant  missionaries  desire  to  be  subject.  It  is 
with  the  hope  that  what  has  been  written  will 
contribute  to  this  that  the  following  pages  are 
heartily  commended. 

W.  H.  BENNET. 


Yeovil,  June,  1909. 


The  Slavery  of  To-Day 


In  October,  1908,  I left  Lisbon  for  Portu- 
guese Africa  with  the  object  of  visiting 
and  seeing  as  much  as  possible  of  the 
Missionaries  and  their  praise- worthy  work 
in  the  Provinee  of  Angola,  where  I had 
been  privileged,  with  my  wife,  to  labour 
for  many  years.  My  experience  of  this 
province  extends  over  some  twenty-three 
years. 

Points  of  Inquiry 

As  much  has  been  said  and  written  as 
to  the  existenee  of  slavery  in  the  province, 
I was  asked  to  find  out  as  much  as  I pos- 
sibly could,  during  this  journey,  in  eon- 
nection  with  the  different  phases  of  the 
present  system  of  so-called  ‘ ‘ contraet 
labour  ” as  it  prevails  in  Angola.  My 

B 


i8  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 

present  object  in  writing,  is  to  give  a fair 
and  truthful  statement  of  what  I saw 
and  heard  in  the  hope  that  it  may  lead 
to  some  amelioration  in  the  condition  of 
the  natives  who  have  no  means  of  making 
known  their  grievances  to  the  civilised 
world.  I was  convinced,  before  I started, 
that  I could  not  help  much  towards 
clearing  up  some  of  the  points  upon 
which  information  was  wanted,  as,  for 
instance — 

(1)  “Number  of  men  and  women 
passed  down  to  the  coast.” 

(2)  “Number  who  die  on  the  road, 
or  the  number  killed  or  wronged  in  the 
process  of  slave-hunting  in  proportion  to 
those  who  finally  get  down  to  the  Coast.  ’ ’ 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  system, 
it  is  utterly  impossible  to  give  statistics, 
for  no  record  is,  or  can,  be  kept  of  the 
number  who  start  for  the  Coast,  or  the 
number  who  die,  are  killed  or  wronged, 
in  the  process  of  slave-hunting.  One 
would  not  be  far  out  in  saying  that  every 


POINTS  OF  INQUIRY 


native  in  Angola  is  wronged  more  or 
less  as  the  result  of  this  dastardly  traffic. 
As  to  the  numbers  who  are  actually 
shipped,  the  Portuguese  Authorities,  or 
the  Empreza  Nacional  Steam  Navigation 
Coy.,  Lisbon,  who  carry  all  the  servigaes, 
can  easily  supply  particulars,  if  they 
will,  but  the  record  of  those  who  have 
died  or  been  killed  will  not  be  known 
till  every  man  has  to  give  an  account  to 
his  Maker. 

The  following  was  also  pointed  out  as 
very  necessary  : — 

“ A statement  from  the  Missionaries 
in  the  province  of  their  convictions  on 
this  matter.” 

Another  thing  I was  asked  to  get  was 
native  testimony.  I think  I may  be 
allowed  to  say  that  herein  is  contained 
abundance  of  this. 

“Modern  Slavery” 

In  considering  the  question,  of  what 
has  been  very  aptly  called,  “ Modern 


20 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Slavery  ” as  carried  on  in  the  provinces 
of  Angola,  S.  Thome  and  Princip^,  all 
feeling  against  the  Portuguese,  as  such, 
must  be  put  aside,  for  the  struggle  which 
right-minded  people  are  making,  on  be- 
half of  the  helpless  and  down-trodden 
African,  is  not  against  the  Portuguese, 
but  against  the  unjust  system  of  depriv- 
ing men  and  women  of  their  rights  as 
human  beings,  and  using  them,  as  we 
use  animals,  for  our  own  convenience  or 
pecuniary  ends,  without  for  a moment 
taking  into  consideration  their  will  or 
inclinations.  It  is  not  a question  of 
whether  they  are  treated  well  or  not,  for 
the  man  who  treats  his  horse  badly  is 
a fool,  if  he  wants  to  get  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  work  out  of  him. 
Neither  is  it  a question  of  whether  the 
black  man  should  be  made  to  work  or 
not,  for  all  will  agree  that,  if  he  will  not 
work,  he  must  be  made  to  do  so.  As 
civilisation  advances,  the  black,  as  well 
as  others,  reaps  its  advantages,  and  he 


Bleached  Bones— A common  sight  on  slave  routes  (pp.  39,  174) 


( 


“MODERN  SLAVERY" 


21 


must  be  made  to  discharge  its  responsi- 
bilities, if  he  enjoys  its  privileges.  The 
question  to  be  faced  is,  “ Has  any  man 
the  right  to  deprive  another  of  his  liberty, 
take  him  forcibly  away  from  his  home, 
break  up  his  family  life,  and,  either,  never 
allow  him  to  return,  or  put  him  into  a 
position,  or  even  bring  him  into  such  a 
eondition  that  he  cannot  or  does  not 
desire  to  return  ? ’ ’ 

The  term  “ Modern  slavery  ’ ’ is  well 
applied,  for  the  old  order  of  things  has 
passed  into  oblivion,  and  one  no  longer 
meets  with  the  terrible  slave  market, 
nor  the  crowding  of  slaves  on  ship-board 
with  all  its  attendant  horrors  of  disease 
and  suffocation. 

One  does  not  mean  to  say  that  all 
suffering  is  at  an  end,  for,  even  if  we 
grant  that  the  blacks  are  fairly  well 
treated  on  the  ro9as  of  S.  Thome  and 
Principe,  there  yet  remains  the  fact  that 
many  of  these  men  and  women  now 
working  on  the  ro9as  have  passed  through 


22 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


untold  sufifering  on  their  way  to  the 
Coast  from  the  interior,  and  the  terrible 
tale  of  agony  endured  by  the  very  large 
percentage  who  die,  or  are  killed  because 
they  cannot  any  longer  command  suffi- 
cient strength  to  drag  one  foot  in  front 
of  the  other,  will  remain  untold  till  the 
Great  Judgment  Day. 

Anti-British  Feeling 

We  must  remember  that  Portuguese 
law  is  as  much  against  slavery  as  that  of 
our  own,  or  any  other  country,  and, 
from  my  ovu  experience,  I can  testify 
that  the  Portuguese  public,  generally 
speaking,  are  ignorant  of  the  true  con- 
dition of  things  in  Angola.  I have 
spoken  with  sincere  Christian  men  about 
the  matter,  and  they  are  indignant  to 
hear  that  slavery  yet  exists  in  one  of 
their  richest  colonies.  They  at  once  con- 
clude that  such  ‘ ‘ reports  ’ ’ are  the  out- 
come of  England’s  desire  to  concoct  a 
case  against  Portugal  with  a view  to 


ANTI-BRITISH  FEELING 


23 


deprive  her  of  her  lawful  possessions. 
Of  course  the  trader  and  the  planter 
know  very  well  how  things  are,  but  in 
their  own  interests,  they  fan  the  flame 
of  indignation  against  England  in  the 
hearts  of  those  in  Portugal  who  have 
never  had  an  opportunity  of  looking  into 
the  true  condition  of  things  for  themselves. 
Let  us  then  sympathise  with  the  sincere, 
though  misinformed,  in  Portugal,  but  let 
there  be  no  quarter  shown  to  those  who 
roll  in  riches  at  the  expense  of  the  blood 
of  their  fellow  men  and  women. 

Effects  of  Living  on  Coast 

One  of  the  sad  effects  of  living  on  the 
coast,  or  in  the  interior,  is  that  the  most 
humane,  who  are  indignant  at  what  they 
see  on  their  arrival,  become  accustomed 
to  their  surroundings  and  the  tale  of 
human  suffering.  Even  some  mission- 
aries are  not  so  ready  as  they  might  be 
to  raise  their  voice  in  condemnation  of 
a practice  that  would  overturn  States, 


24 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


were  it  indulged  in  anywhere  except  in 
Africa.  The  Englishman,  proverbial  for 
his  sense  of  justice,  not  only  becomes 
accustomed  to  the  ‘ ‘ Open  sore  of  Africa  ” 
(which,  though  covered  with  a kind  of 
bandage  in  the  form  of  ‘ ‘ contracts  ’ ’ 
&c.,  is  still  an  open  sore)  but  even 
advocates  Slavery  as  the  best  thing  for 
the  African,  seeing  he  is  so  lazy  and 
degraded  ! One,  in  our  diplomatic  ser- 
vice, put  forth  this  view.  This  individual 
entirely  forgot,  or  was  ignorant  of  the 
fact,  that  we  in  the  interior  have  no 
difficulty  to  get  the  natives  to  work  for 
us  and  this  at  a much  lower  figure  than 
anyone  else,  and,  so  far  as  their  being 
degraded  goes,  they  are  degraded  because 
the  white  man  forces  his  vile  rum  upon 
them,  and  tlm  effects  of  strong  drink  we 
need  not  go  to  Africa  to  see,,  for  they  are 
before  our  eyes  _ in  every  civilised  land. 
The  white  man  makes  the  negro  a brute 
,and  then  says  he  must  be  treated  as 
such. 


EFFECTS  OF  LIVING  ON  COAST  25 


I understand  the  Portuguese  have  been 
granted  freedom,  by  the  other  nations, 
to  continue  the  manufacture  and  sale  in 
their  colonies,  of  the  awful  ‘ ‘ firewater  ’ ’ 
for  ten  years  longer,  lest  their  trade  should 
he  ruined  ! So  the  ruination — spirit,  soul 
and  body — of  the  black  man  is  not  taken 
into  account  when  it  is  a question  of  gain 
to  the  white  ! Imagine  what  will  be  the 
result  if  the  sale  of  rum  and  the  present 
system  of  slavery  continue  for  ten  years 
longer ! 

A short  time  before  leaving  Lisbon 
I received  two  letters  from  friends  in 
Bihe,  and  I make  two  brief  extracts 
from  them.  “ The  whole  country  is  in 
a state  of  fear  on  account  of  men-stealers. 
Women  are  escorted  by  men  to  and  from 
their  fields.  Care  is  taken  to  wait  until 
the  sun  is  high  before  leaving  the  villages, 
and  they  return  early  in  the  afternoon.” 
The  second  extract  is  as  follows  : — “ The 
slave  trade  is  supposed  not  to  exist,  but 
it  does,  and  probably  in  a worse  form 


26 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


than  ever.  One  poor  wretch  who  is  here 
has  his  back  terribly  lacerated  and  has 
suffered  badly.  We  have  a girl  about 
Chitenge’s  size  who  was  to  be  sold  to  a 
white  man,  but  who  ran  off  before  the 
bargain  could  be  made  ; she  won’t  be 
anyasy  piece  to  manage  unless  she  comes 
under  the  power  of  the  Gospel.” 

Unsolicited  Testimony 

The  following  is  unsought  testimony 

from  Snr. who  travelled  on  the 

S.  S.  “ Cabo  Verde  ’ ’ at  the  end  of  June, 
1908: — “From  the  ports  of  Benguella, 
Lobito,  and  Novo  Redondo,  we  carried 
268  blacks  to  the  islands.  The  black 
man  in  charge  of  the  servigaes  confessed 
that  he  and  those  under  his  charge  were 
all  slaves  and  no  one  of  their  number  was 
going  of  his  own  free  will,  but  simply 
because  of  having  been  bought.  The 
man  in  charge  had  already  been  a slave 
for  over  seven  years,  but  he  saw  no 
prospects  of  getting  his  liberty.”  Snr. 


UNSOLICITED  TESTIMONY 


27 


himself,  in  answer  to  my  question 

said,  “ I have  lived  for  ten  years  in 
Loanda  and  I have  never  met  a native 
who  had  been  repatriated  from  S.  Thome 
or  Principe.”  He  also  said  that  the 
majority  of  the  slaves  on  the  “ Cabo 

Verde  ’ ’ were  for  Snr. whose 

Lisbon  residence  is  in  the  Avenida  de 
Liberdade.  One  night  during  the  voyage 
a woman  disappeared,  leaving  a little 
baby  behind.  When  search  was  made 
for  her  next  morning  and  she  was  nowhere 
to  be  found,  all  decided  that  she  had 
thrown  herself  overboard  rather  than 
enter  upon  the  unexperienced  horrors 
of  S.  Thome. 

Missionary  Statements 

I have  obtained  a written  ‘ ‘ state- 
ment ’ ’ from  all  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries I was  able  to  reach  in  the  limited 
time  at  my  disposal.  (These  include 
Americans,  English,  Swiss,  and  two  natives 
of  British  Guiana.)  They  represent  one 


28 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TODAY 


English  and  two  American  Societies. 
Five  of  them  have  been  connected  with 
the  Province  for  over  twenty  years,  four 
for  over  seventeen  years,  three  for  over 
ten,  and  the  remainder  for  from  two  to 
eight  years.  More  than  an  equal  number 
of  lady  missionaries  would  gladly  have 
signed  the  “ statement,”  but  for  various 
reasons,  this  was  not  thought  desirable. 

I hold  myself  responsible  to  give  the 
names  of  those  who  sign  the  “ statement,” 
if  requested  to  do  so. 

The  statement  is  as  follows  : — 

1st.  That  natives  have  been  bought 
and  sold  during  the  whole  of  this  period,* 
and  still  continue  to  be  bought  and  sold, 
though  less  openly  in  recent  years.  After 
the  war  of  1902,  such  purchased  natives 
were  required  to  be  placed  under  regular 
contracts,  but  I have  never  found  that 
they  understood  anything  of  the  legal 


Each  one  who  signed  the  statement  mentions  the  time  he 
has  lived  in  the  Province. 


Slave  woman  with  shackle  and  man  in  charge  Slaves,  with  shackles,  on  the  way  to  the  coast 


MISSIONARY  STATEMENTS 


29 


nature  of  these  contracts,  nor  of  the  terms 
of  their  implied  agreement. 

2nd.  That  many  of  these  purchased 
natives  have  been  exported,  and  still 
continue  to  be  exported,  to  the  islands 
of  S.  Thome  and  Principe  under  the  so- 
called  ‘ ‘ contract  ’ ’ system,  but  I have 
never  met  any  of  them  who  understood 
the  terms  of  the  said  “contracts,”  the 
nature  of  the  work  they  are  expected  to 
do,  the  period  of  time  they  are  supposed 
to  serve,  nor  any  conditions  under  which 
they  may  hope  to  return  to  their  native 
lands. 

3rd.  That  I have  never  known  a single 
case  in  which  a native  has  voluntarily 
gone  as  a “ contracted  ’ ’ servant  to  the 
islands,  and,  what  is  more,  they  always 
speak  of  the  possibility  of  being  sent  to 
S.  Thome  with  the  utmost  dread. 

4th.  That  I have  never  known  one  of 
these  exported  natives  to  be  repatriated, 
and  it  is  always  taken  for  granted  that 
all  natives,  so  exported,  are  henceforth 


3° 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


dead  to  all  their  relations  and  connections 
with  the  mainland. 

One  whom  I was  not  able  to  visit 
writes  me  as  follows  : — 

‘ ‘ I wish  to  make  a statement  or  so 
as  to  slavery  in  this  Province.  I can 
give  instances  where  natives  have  been 
bought  and  sold,  and  that  recently.  I 
also  know  something  of  the  cruelty  with 
which  some  of  them  are  treated  by  their 
white  masters.  Many  are  held  or  owned 
by  what  is  known  as  a ‘ contract,’ 
which,  however,  carries  with  it  no  mean- 
ing of  the  kind  in  the  minds  of  the  natives. 
So  far  as  I understand,  the  paper  (that 
is  the  contract)  is  simply  a cloak  to  cover 
the  evil  practice,  a ‘ convenience  ’ for 
the  white  trader  ! But  I believe  in  many 
instances  slaves  are  owned  without  even 
the  so-called  contract.  Many  of  these 
slaves,  purchased  in  the  interior,  are  used 
in  work  on  plantations  or  as  ordinary 
servants.  I know  of  instances  where 
others  have  been  sent  to  Benguella,  by 


MISSIONARY  STATEMENTS 


31 


both  white  and  black  traders,  and  sold. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  later,  at  a con- 
venient season,  these,  or  some  of  them, 
are  shipped  off  the  mainland.  But  this 
I cannot  prove  by  giving  definite  instances 
— as  names,  date,  steamer,  the  firm  doing 
it,  &c.,  &c.  I have  never  heard  of  anyone 
voluntarily  going  to  Benguella  with  the 
idea  of  offering  himself  as  a ‘ contract  ’ 
labourer  for  the  plantations  at  S.  Thome. 
The  absurdity  of  such  a desire  would  at 
once  brand  a native  as  a crazy  man  or 
a fool ! So  far  as  I can  learn,  those  who 
are  exported  do  not  return,  but  are 
considered  as  those  who  have  died.” 

There  is  abundant  evidence,  I submit, 
in  actual  cases,  herein  reported,  to  bear 
out,  and  more  than  bear  out,  every 
point  in  the  statement  to  which  they  have 
put  their  names.  And,  when  one  con- 
siders the  character  of  these  men,  their 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  native  lang- 
uages, their  close  and  constant  contact 
with  the  daily  life  of  the  natives,  and  the 


32 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


confidence  the  natives  repose  in  them, 
the  evidence  they  herein  put  forward 
should  be  sufficient  to  convince  any  fair- 
minded  man  or  woman  of  the  true 
condition  of  things. 

I think  these  ‘ ‘ statements  ’ ’ and  the 
cases  recorded,  which  are  all  practically 
from  missionary  sources,  will  show  that 
much  that  has  been  said  about  these 
men  and  their  silence  about  this  question 
is  inexact  and  somewhat  unfair.  From 
more  than  one  source  it  has  been  said 
that  they  (the  missionaries)  dare  not  say 
anything  openly  against  the  traffic,  and 
that  if  they  did  they  would  probably 
be  poisoned  or  driven  out  of  the  eountry, 
&c.,  &c.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  mis- 
sionaries do  not  lay  themselves  out  to 
supply  information  and  to  lay  complaints 
before  anyone  who  may  come  along,  but 
to  say  “they  are  afraid,”  when  ap- 
proached in  the  right  manner  and  through 
the  proper  channels,  is  not  true.  Why, 
twenty  years  before  some,  who  are  now 


MISSIONARY  STATEMENTS 


33 


speaking  and  writing  against  the  traffic, 
ever  thought  anything  about  it,  the 
missionaries  were  striving  against  the 
injustice  of  it  though  the  outside  world 
was  ignorant  of  their  efforts  ! More  than 
once  some  of  us  have  heard  and  read 
that  our  lives  would  be  taken  if  we  did 
not  desist  from  interfering  with  those  who 
were  setting  at  defiance  both  Portuguese 
and  international  law.  Why,  since  I left 
Africa,  I have  received  the  following  from 
one  who  has  run  great  risks  in  fighting 
against  the  system  : — “ Thirty-five  slaves 
have  run  away  from  0.  The  trader 
blames  me  for  this  and  has  written 
threatening  to  shoot  me  ! ’ ’ 

This  same  individual  also  tells  the 
following  pathetic  incident : — The  day 
after  the  thirty-five  slaves  ran  away,  a 
woman  from  his  village  found  a baby 
in  the  bush,  evidently  thrown  away  by 
one  of  them  in  their  flight.  The  woman 
waited  till  evening  and,  as  no  one  turned 
up  for  it,  she  carried  it  to  my  friend. 


34 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


In  the  following  notes  wherever  I use 
initials,  Mr.,  Snr.  — — , friend,  or 

simply , names  can  be  supplied 

if  necessary. 

First  Scrvical  Spoken  To 

The  first  opportunity  I had  to  ask  a 
servi9al  the  conditions  under  which  he 
was  serving,  was  in  the  trading  house 
in  which  we  were  staying.  His  lot  was 
to  do  the  most  menial  service  of  all  on 
the  place.  Finding  he  was  from  Bihe 
I asked  “ How  is  it  that  you  are  here 
instead  of  up  country  ? ” “ Oh,  sir,” 

he  replied,  ‘ ‘ I am  here  as  a slave  because 
my  father  sold  me  to  the  whites  ! ” I 
asked,  “Is  it  really  true  that  your 
father  sold  you  ? ” He  answered,  with 
a face  fuU  of  deep  sadness,  “ Yes,  it  is 
true.” 

The  managing  man  in  this  trading 
house  complained  to  me  that  many  of 
his  servigaes  cost  more  to  doctor  them 
than  they  were  worth,  speaking  of  their 


FIRST  SERVICAL  SPOKEN  TO  35 

“ worth  ” as  he  might  have  done  of  so 
many  sheep  ! 

Slaves  from  Nearer  Coast 

On  my  arrival  at  Benguella,  one  thing 
struck  me  as  being  very  significant,  and 
that  was,  that  the  great  majority  of  the 
blacks — servi9aes  and  others — instead  of 
being  from  the  far  interior,  as  in  former 
years,  were  Ovimbundu,  and  from  com- 
paratively near  to  the  coast,  i.  e.,  from 
parts  to  the  west  of  the  Quanza.  This 
is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  Congo  Free  State  Authorities,  what- 
ever they  do  with  the  natives  themselves, 
will  not  allow  the  western  traders— 
white  or  black — to  purchase  slaves  in 
their  territory.  Their  out-posts  along  the 
western  frontier  of  the  State  have  effectu- 
ally stopped  these  caravans  from  entering 
the  State,  and  the  “contractors”  of  the 
servi9aes  are  compelled  to  get  their 
supplies  nearer  home.  This  accounts  for 
the  reports  from  up  country,  from  mis- 


36 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


sionaries  and  natives,  that  it  is  scarcely 
safe  for  a native  to  go  to  his  field,  as 
kidnappers  are  always  on  the  alert. 

Just  before  starting  on  my  up  country 
journey  I met  a Portuguese  in  a shop 
(at  Benguella),  and  my  carriers  pointed 
him  out  to  me  as  one  who  came  from 
very  near  to  Ochilonda  (Sangongolo). 
I spoke  to  him,  and  he  said  that  many  of 
the  whites  were  dying  from  some  unknown 
disease  up  country.  I questioned  my 
men,  and  found  that  they  left  their  villages 
after  him  and  they  had  not  heard  of  the 
recent  death  of  any  white.  They  also 
told  me  that  this  very  white  man  brought 
slaves  down  to  the  coast  with  him,  but 
instead  of  travelling  over  the  ordinary 
^oad  they  had  been  kept  to  the  side 
paths.  (Perhaps  he  thought  that,  if  he 
reported  the  whites  were  dying,  I would 
give  up  the  idea  of  my  journey  up 
country.) 


SLAVES  BROUGHT  BY  BY-PATHS  37 


Slaves  Brought  by  By-Paths 

Seeing  that  hundreds  of  natives  are 
constantly  passing  up  the  coast  on  their 
way  to  S.  Thome,  I wondered  why  those 
who  had  previously  gone  out  to  enquire  into 
the  system  saw  so  very  little  of  slave  cara- 
vans, slave  shackles,  &c.  I felt  convinced 
that  the  reasons  given  by  these  gentlemen, 
viz.,  that  the  trade  was  not  being  carried 
on  in  such  an  inhumane  way  as  in  the 
past,  &c.,  were  not  sufficient  to  account 
for  their  seeing  so  little,  though  there 
is  undoubtedly  a certain  amount  of  truth 
in  the  reasons  put  forth.  Thinking  over 
the  matter,  I became  convinced  that  the 
slaves  were  reaching  the  coast  by  less 
frequented  paths  than  the  above-men- 
tioned gentlemen  travelled  over,  and  I 
determined  to  try  and  find  these  paths 
and  to  travel  over  them  on  my  way  up 
country.  I have  been  led  to  suppose 
that  one  of  the  slave-frequented  paths 
is  that  which  leads  up  to  the  Nganda 


38 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


country,  and  I will  (D.V.)  go  up  that  way. 

Notes  Made  on  Journey 
October,  1908. 

After  the  usual  trying  experiences  at 
Benguella  and  Lobito  in  getting  my 
things  through  the  Customs,  &c.,  I got 
a start  for  the  interior  late  in  the  after- 
noon of  the  24th  October.  After  one 
and  a-half  hours  we  reached  the  dry  bed 
of  the  Kavaku  River.  By  the  time  we 
had  got  my  tent  pitched  it  was  quite  dark. 

25th. — To-day’s  journey  shows  that  I 
was  well  advised  in  choosing  this  road, 
for  I have  never,  in  all  my  African  ex- 
perience, extending  over  the  past  twenty- 
three  years,  seen,  in  any  one  day,  so  many 
indications  that  the  slave  trade  goes  on 
unabated  ! Signs  of  the  diabolical  traffic 
were  met  with  all  along  the  path — 
shackles,  bleached  bones,  and  the 
emaciated  body  of  a young  lad  who  had 
been  left  to  die  that  morning,  as  well  as 
the  slaves  themselves  in  the  caravans  we 


NOTES  MADE  ON  JOURNEY 


39 


met.  My  men  picked  up  ninety-two 
shackles  for  legs,  arms,  or  neck,  without 
leaving  the  path  to  look  for  them. 
Thirteen  of  the  shackles  were  found  in 
one  camp.  Another  thing  I would  speci- 
ally note  is,  that  most  of  these  shackles 
were  comparatively  new,  and  a very  great 
many  of  them  still  contained  the  sap  of 
the  wood.  Can  any  proof  be  more 
definite  that  the  trade  is  not  a thing  of 
the  past  as  is  so  constantly  affirmed  ? 
The  sad  mixture  of  rum  bottles,  shackles, 
and  bleaching  bones  was  enough  to  make 
one  sick  at  heart.  Some  of  the  Christian 
natives  travelling  with  me  were  them- 
selves once  engaged  in  the  slave  trade, 
and  on  the  principle  of  ‘ ‘ send  a thief  to 
catch  a thief,”  they  spotted  the  slaves 
carrying  shackles,  even  when  the  shackles 
were  wrapped  up  in  sacking. 

We  must  remember  that  many  slaves 
taken  to  the  coast  are  not  shackled  at 
nights  for  they  are  deceived,  by  their 
native  masters,  into  thinking  that  they 


40 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


will  return  again  to  the  interior,  as 
they  may  have  done  many  times  before. 
It  is  therefore  very  difficult  to  recognise 
these  from  ordinary  carriers. 

At  one  point,  when  we  came  across  a 
skeleton,  bleached  white  by  the  fierce 
rays  of  the  sun,  I questioned  my  men  to 
see  if  they  had  any  doubt  about  its  being 
the  skeleton  of  a slave.  They  explained 
that  there  could  be  no  doubt  about  it, 
for  the  superstitious  dread  of  the  spirits 
of  their  own  people  would  never  allow 
them  to  leave  one  unburied.  They,  for 
this  reason,  bury  even  slaves  who  have 
lived  with  them  for  some  years,  for, 
during  this  time,  they  have  got  to  know 
the  ins  and  outs  of  their  family  affairs, 
and,  after  death,  their  spirits  would 
return  and  cause  trouble.  So  the  fact 
of  one  being  unburied,  would  suggest 
not  only  that  he  was  a slave,  but  also 
a slave  that  had  been  in  possession  of 
his  master  for  a comparatively  short  time 
before  his  death. 


15 


NOTES  MADE  ON  JOURNEY 


41 


One  woman-slave,  who  was  carrying 
her  shackle  wrapped  up  in  sacking,  said 
she  was  an  Ochimbundu,  but  we  could 
not  find  out  why  she  was  being  sold. 
Other  two  slaves  were  being  taken  to 

, Benguella  ; the  native  in  charge 

of  them  showed  me  the  letter  he  had 
received  from  the  white  man  who  had 
sent  them  from  up  country.  Two  others, 
a man  and  a woman,  were  not  only  carry- 
ing shackles,  they  also  had  ropes  round 
their  necks  and  legs.  The  man’s  legs 
were  badly  bruised,  and  blood  was  flowing 
freely.  These  two  were  accompanied  by 
a letter  addressed  to , Benguella. 

Our  journey  this  day  was  an  extra  long 
one,  nine  and  a-half  hours,  with  two 
hours’  rest,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  water, 
and  before  reaching  our  camping  ground, 
not  a couple  of  yards  from  the  path,  in 
one  of  the  little  circular  huts  such  as  the 
natives  use  in  the  dry  season  when  travel- 
ling, lay  the  naked  body  of  a lad  who 
could  not  have  died  before  that  morning. 


42 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


The  expression  of  suffering  on  the  face, 
and  the  shackles  for  both  hands  and  feet, 
as  well  as  the  stick  he  used,  to  help  himself 
along  to  his  unknown  future,  made  a 
picture  too  pathetic  for  any  ordinary 
individual  to  behold  without  extreme 
indignation  against  the  men,  who,  by 
their  offers  of  cloth,  guns,  powder,  and 
rum,  create  such  avarice  in  the  hearts  of 
the  natives,  that  they  lose  their  natural 
affection  and  often  go  to  the  length  of 
selling  their  own  children  and  members 
of  their  own  families.  Who  are  the  real 
culprits  ? I would  a thousand  times 
rather  be  the  native  slave-trader  at  the 
Great  Judgment  Day,  than  the  white 
man  who  induces  him  to  carry  on  his 
inhuman  traffic  with  such  tempting  offers 
of  gain.  The  truly  guilty  often  go  un- 
punished in  these  days  when  international 
dread  of  trouble,  leads  nearly  everybody 
to  use  diplomatic  language  that  cannot 
offend  anybody,  but  on  that  Day,  when 
things  and  people  will  be  seen  just  as 


NOTES  MADE  ON  JOURNEY 


43 


thep  are^  and  not  merely  as  they  appear, 
the  truly  responsible  will  receive  their 
merited  deserts. 

The  above  is  what  I saw  in  a journey  of 
eleven  and  a-half  hours  from  BengueUa, 
and  a score  of  natives,  some  of  whom  have 
given  abundant  proof  in  their  lives  that 
they  are  true  Christians,  can  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  truthfulness  of  what  I have 
here  noted.  When  these  particulars  be- 
come known,  another  change  of  route 
will  probably  be  made,  and,  as  many  of 
the  condemning  signs  as  possible,  of  the 
‘ ‘ open  sore  of  Africa  ’ ’ will  be  removed, 
lest  others  should  follow  in  my  steps  and 
confirm  what  is  herein  written,  and  the 
planters  of  Angola,  S.  Thome  and  Principe 
hindered  in  their  accumulation  of  wealth 
at  the  expense  of  untold  and  untenable 
human  suffering. 

Does  it  seem,  from  what  is  here  re- 
corded, that  the  native  servi9aes  all  enter 
into  their  contracts  of  their  “ own  free 
will  ” ? It  is,  as  one  has  very  aptly  said. 


44 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


‘ ‘ the  free  will  of  sheep  going  to  the 
butcher’s  ! ” 

27th. — Yesterday  we  came  across  only 
nine  or  ten  shackles,  and  the  reason  given 
by  my  men  is  that  the  place  where  we 
saw  most,  the  day  before  yesterday,  is 
a point  from  which  the  coast  can  be 
reached  without  sleeping  again,  so  there 
is  no  further  use  for  the  shackles,  as  there 
is  very  little  chance  of  escape  when  once 
the  slaves  are  shut  up  in  the  slave- 
quarters  of  the  trading  houses. 

Native  Attempts  to  Sell  His  Sister 

On  our  arrival  in  camp  to-day,  we 
noticed  a shackle  outside  of  one  of  the  hut 
doors.  As  soon  as  we  had  got  settled  we 
went  back,  called  the  head  man  of  the 
caravan,  and  after  hearing  a great  many, 
of  what  we  knew  to  be,  lies,  he  confessed 
that  the  woman  in  the  hut  was  his  own 
sister,  and  he  was  taking  her  to  the  coast 
to  sell  her,  as  she  was  a witch.  We  called 
the  woman,  and  she  confirmed  her  in- 


ATTEMPTS  TO  SELL  HIS  SISTER  45 


human  brother’s  story.  We  then  asked 
her  for  further  particulars,  and  she  gave 
them  as  follows  : — She,  and  another  wo- 
man, brewed  native  beer  together.  The 
other  woman  wanted  to  buy  a reed-mat 
with  her  beer,  and  this  one  to  pay  men 
for  thatching  her  field  hut.  The  woman 
who  bought  the  mat  died  shortly  after- 
wards, and  this  one  was  blamed  for  killing 
her,  simply  because  the  two  brewed  beer 
together  ! It  will  be  difficult  for  anyone 
to  see  through  such  a concocted  tale,  but 
it  is  about  on  a par  with  most  of  such 
cases.  The  brother  acknowledged  that 
the  case  was  exactly  as  stated  by  his 
sister.  I then  told  my  men  to  take  the 
brother  to  my  camp  and  to  put  him  in  the 
shackle  he  had  been  using  for  his  sister 
since  they  left  their  villages.  He  strongly 
protested  against  such  treatment,  but 
there  was  no  help  for  him,  and  he  passed 
the  night  in  the  shackle,  and  received  such 
a reprimanding  and  warning  from  my 
men  that  he  will  not  forget  as  long  as  he 


46 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


lives.  This  morning  we  set  him  free,  and 
he  limped  away  from  our  camp  with 
aching  legs,  the  result  of  the  pressure  of 
the  shackle,  evidently  glad  to  have 
escaped  with  his  life.  We  then  appealed 
to  the  woman  as  to  what  she  wanted  to 
do,  and  she  said  she  would  like  to  go 
with  us.  I asked  if  she  would  not  like 
to  return  to  her  own  people,  and  she 
said  she  would  like  to,  but  they  would 
send  her  again  to  be  sold.  She  is  there- 
fore travelling  with  us,  and  I have 
promised  to  try  and  find  a home  for  her 
on  one  of  the  Mission  Stations.  She  is 
overjoyed  among  her  new-found  friends, 
and  trips  along  after  my  tipoia  hke  one 
who  has  had  new  life  put  into  her  limbs. 

In  times  past  this  woman  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  burnt  to  death, 
but  that  would  be  considered  a waste  of 
money  now,  since  the  traders  are  ready 
to  buy  young,  middle-aged,  or  old  people. 
Such  elderly  women  are  generally  kept 
to  do  the  most  menial  work  on  the 


ATTEMPTS  TO  SELL  HIS  SISTER  47 


insanitary  trading  stations  and  streets 
at  the  coast,  as  they  are  too  far  advanced 
in  life  for  work  on  the  islands,  or  to  bear 
children  for  the  benefit  of  the  planters. 

Slavery  and  Polygamy 

28th. — In  speaking  with  the  Portuguese 
one  often  finds  they  try  to  justify  their 
doings  by  saying  they  are  simply  adopting 
the  native  customs.  As  slavery  and 
polygamy  exist  among  the  natives  they 
see  no  injustice  in  adopting  these  prac- 
tices. But  slavery  and  polygamy  among 
the  natives  are  very  different  from  what 
they  are  among  the  whites  ; and,  if  they 
were  not,  is  this  not  the  way  to  uncivilise 
the  white  rather  than  to  civilise  the 
black  ? The  domestic  slavery,  as  I have 
seen  it  among  the  tribes  where  the 
influence  of  the  white  trader,  or  his  black 
emissaries,  has  not  yet  been  felt,  is  a very 
mild,  and,  one  might  even  go  so  far  as 
to  say,  not  an  undesirable  state  of  things. 
But  when  the  trader  appears,  or  his 


48 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


coloured  agents,  then  these  poor  creatures, 
who  have  happily  served  their  black 
masters  and  been  treated  almost  as  equals 
with  the  children  of  the  family,  are  sold 
to  the  harsh  and  cruel  treatment  of  those 
who  value  a man  according  to  his  strength, 
and  a woman  according  to  her  ability  to 
bear  children  who  will  also  become  the 
slaves  of  her  owner,  or  according  to  her 
ability  to  satisfy  her  owner’s  lust.  It 
would  be  amusing,  were  it  not  so  sad,  to 
hear  the  whites  insisting  that  one  of  the 
best  ways  to  raise  the  blacks  is,  to  take 
the  black  women  for  concubines  and 
produce  a better  race  of  beings,  a race 
of  nearer  approach  to  the  white  than  the 
black!  As  a rule,  the  pure  black  is  to 
be  preferred  a thousand  times  to  the 
miserable  specimen  of  humanity — the 
mulatto — the  child  of  lust,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  forced  submission  on  the 
other. 

29th. — We  camped  near  the  first  in- 
terior trading  station  on  this  road,  with 


4 


SLAVERY  AND  POLYGAMY 


49 


the  two  white  traders  sitting  within 
their  gate  waiting  for  trade  from  the 
passing  caravans,  while  above  the  gate- 
way were  suspended  strips  of  dried  meat 
to  tempt  the  man  who  might  have 
“ ohatu  ” (meat-hunger.)*  When  the 
woman,  whom  we  delivered  from  being 
sold,  was  passing  their  door,  they  said 
we  must  have  stolen  her ! No  won- 
der they  think  others  like  themselves 
in  this  respect.  The  poor  woman 
was  delighted  when  she  came  up  to 
where  I was,  for  with  me  she  feels  safe. 

Redeeming  Slaves 

31st. — Though  we  have  been  passing 
numerous  caravans  during  the  past  three 
days,  we  have  not  noticed  any  slaves. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  someone  has 
been  sent  ahead  of  us  to  give  warning 

* The  craving  for  meat  in  these  countries  is  very  remarkable  ; 
Livingstone  and  nearly  all  African  travellers  mention 
it,  and  I have  noted  that,  in  all  the  dialects  of  which 
I have  any  knowledge,  there  exists  a distinctive  word 
meaning  strictly  ‘ ‘ meat-hunger  ’ ’ besides  the  ordinary 
word  for  “ himger.” 


5° 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


and  that  the  slaves  have  been  cleverly 
disguised  as  ordinary  carriers,  or  they 
may  have  been  hustled  off  to  some  by- 
path. 

At  the  coast  I had  some  conversation 
with  missionaries  about  redeeming  slaves, 
for  I found  when  I passed  down  the  Lower 
Congo,  seventeen  years  ago,  that  this  was 
quite  the  custom  of  some  God-fearing, 
but,  I believe,  mistaken  men.  I do  not 
say  that  there  may  never  be  circum- 
stances under  which  it  would  be  right  to 
redeem  slaves,  but,  as  a rule,  I am 
convinced  that  the  practice  is  to  be 
deprecated.  Without  any  desire  to  do 
so,  those  who  adopt  this  custom  really 
encourage  the  slave-trade.  For  instance, 
a native  trader,  with  a very  small  supply 
of  goods,  goes  into  the  interior  and  buys 
a couple  of  slaves.  On  his  return,  the 
missionary  sees  and  has  compassion  on 
them  and  redeems  them,  giving  their 
owner  probably  twice  as  much,  and 
sometimes  many  times  as  much,  as  he 


REDEEMING  SLAVES 


51 


paid  for  them.  With  this  increased  sup- 
ply of  goods  he  goes  back  to  the  interior 
and  buys,  probably,  half-a-dozen  slaves, 
and  so  on,  till  he  is  doing  quite  a flourish- 
ing trade.  In  dealing  with  this  abomin- 
able traffic  we  must  consider  not  only  the 
pitiable  condition  of  the  slave,  but  also 
the  demoralising  effect  upon  the  trader, 
whether  white  or  black.  I have,  many 
times,  taken  the  law  into  my  own  hands, 
and  received  or  taken  slaves  that  were 
being  ill-treated,  and  who  asked  for  my 
protection,  and  simply  refused  to  give 
them  up  to  their  masters.  This  is,  in 
my  opinion,  the  best  way  to  help  both 
the  slave  and  the  slave-owner.  I have 
always,  however,  when  it  has  been  pos- 
sible, appealed  to  the  Portuguese  au- 
thorities and,  to  their  credit  I write  it, 
they  have  never  forced  me  to  give  up 
any  slave  who  has  asked  for  my  protec- 
tion. And  why  should  they,  seeing  we 
are  acting  within  the  bounds  of  both 
Portuguese  and  international  laAV  ? The 


52 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


traders,  of  course,  hate  us  for  this,  but 
the  hatred  of  such  is  almost  preferable 
to  their  love. 

Slaves  Addressed  to  Coast  Firms 
November,  1908. 

1st. — This  road  is  certainly  frequented 
by  large  numbers  of  caravans. 

5th. — For  a few  days  we  have  been 
travelling  over  a kind  of  cross-country 
road,  but  to-day  we  are  nearing  one  of 
the  direct  routes  to  Bihe,  and  I am  not 
surprised  that  we  came  across  some 
shackles  and  slaves.  We  saw  five  shackles, 
one  of  them  arranged  for  two  persons. 
My  men  detected  two  slaves  in  a small 
caravan,  a young  man  and  a young 
woman  of  about  the  age  at  which  the 
planters  like  to  get  them.  The  young 
fellow  in  charge  declared  he  had  no  slaves 
and  seemed  determined  to  hold  to  his 
word  in  spite  of  all  that  was  said,  till  one 
of  my  men  asked  him  to  undo  a bundle 
on  the  top  of  one  of  the  loads,  when  a 


SLAVES  ADDRESSED  TO  FIRMS  53 


large  shackle  was  discovered  ! He  then 
acknowledged  that  the  two  slaves  had 
been  sent  to  the  coast  by  a white  man  in 
the  Kamondongo  district,  and  he  bore 

a letter  addressed  to , and  another 

to , both  of  Catumbella.  Both 

these  slaves  were  from  the  far  interior. 

6th. — It  may  be  surprising  to  some 
that  we  have  undertaken  to  stop  some 
very  large  caravans  in  which  we  have 
noticed  slaves,  and,  though  at  times 
they  were  almost  numerous  enough  to 
have  eaten  us,  there  was  very  little  sign 
of  resistance.  In  one  case,  when  a head 
man  became  rather  troublesome,  I threat- 
ened to  put  him  into  one  of  the  shackles, 
and  he  immediately  held  his  peace.  But 
the  fact  is  that,  as  a rule,  there  is  very 
little  danger,  because  of  the  general 
dread  of  the  whites.  This  fear,  as  will 
be  easily  seen,  is  often  taken  advantage 
of  by  unscrupulous  men,  so  that  the 
natives  suffer  innumerable  injustices. 

8th. — Passed  through  the  large  planta- 


54 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


tion  of  the  white  called,  by  the  natives, 
Kambuta.  This  is  the  largest  plantation 
I have  ever  seen  in  these  parts,  nothing 
like  it  existed  before  I left  for  Europe 
last  time.  There  were  no  servi9aes  work- 
ing in  the  fields  when  we  passed,  but, 
judging  from  the  number  of  native  houses 
on  the  estate,  the  servi9aes  must  be  quite 
numerous.  The  houses  were  some  dis- 
tance from  the  path.  To-day  we  entered 
the  cleared  road  which  runs  from  Bihe 
to  the  coast. 

Effects  of  Illegitimate  Traffic 

9th. — Rum  stores  by  the  side  of  this 
cleared  road  are  now  quite  common. 
There  is  not  the  least  doubt  about  the 
slave-trade  being  detrimental  to  the  best 
interests  of  any  country.  Illegitimate 
traffic  always  hinders  the  development 
of  that  which  is  lawful  and  beneficial  to 
all.  As  long  as  the  traders  confine  so 
much  of  their  attention  to  dealing  in 
human  beings,  the  resources  of  the  country 


ILLEGITIMATE  TRAFFIC 


55 


will  be  left  undeveloped,  and,  instead  of 
being  occupied  with  the  civilization  and 
education  of  the  natives,  these  will  con- 
tinue to  be  looked  upon  and  considered 
only  as  of  so  much  monetary  value. 
The  Portuguese  do  not  seem  to  recognise 
this  yet,  but  the  day  will  come  when  they 
will  acknowledge  that  those  who  have 
struggled  against  the  slave  trade  have 
been  the  true  benefactors  not  only  of 
the  natives,  but  also  of  the  Portuguese 
themselves. 

10th. — Passed  ten  rum  stores  and  trad- 
ing stations  during  to-day’s  march  ! 
These  have  increased  very  much  during 
my  absence  from  the  country,  and  are  still 
increasing. 

Some  Boers  have  built  near  to  Sakan- 
jimba  and  my  men  were  remarking  on 
the  difference  between  the  slavery  carried 
on  among  them  and  that  which  prevails 
among  the  Portuguese.  The  Boers  do 
not  export  slaves,  they  buy  them  and 
keep  them  for  their  own  use. 


56 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


11th, — The  rain  began  to  fall  very 
heavily  shortly  after  leaving  camp  and 
we  were  compelled  to  take  shelter  in  a 
miserable  rum  store.  The  proud  owner 

of  the  establishment  (Snr. ) seemed 

to  be  in  very  adverse  circumstances,  he 
had  scarcely  a shoe  to  his  foot  or  a coat 
to  his  back.  He  attributed  his  mis- 
fortunes to  the  sudden  fall  in  the  price  of 
rubber  which  took  place  some  time  back. 
The  price  of  this  commodity  is  now  ad- 
vancing. Snr. said,  quite  in- 

nocently, that  he  understood  no  more 
servi9aes  were  being  shipped  from  the 
West  coast,  as  the  natives  on  the  East 
were  in  the  midst  of  famine  and  anxious 
to  go  to  S.  Thome  ! ! 

17th. — Shortly  after  my  arrival  in  Bihe 
I discovered  that  the  object  of  my  visit 
was  suspected,  if  not  actually  known. 

A Snr. — has  been  closely  questioning 

the  Christian  natives  and  says  he  knows 
my  visit  has  some  connection  with  the 
slave  trade.  The  fact  is  these  natives  do 


ILLEGITIMATE  TRAFFIC 


57 


not  know  the  object  of  my  visit,  yet  they 
are  not  surprised  at  my  interest  in,  and 
indignation  against,  the  trade,  for  they 
know  that,  during  all  the  years  of  my  stay 
among  them,  I have  done  all  I could  to 
benefit  those  who  were  suffering  unjustly 
at  the  hands  of  the  whites. 

A Chequered  History 

23rd. — At  Oka.  I met  a native  called 
Ukuenjeumuamue  who  has  had  a very 
chequered  history  which  shows  us  one  of 
the  ways  in  which  slaves  are  obtained, 
and  also  the  ruthless  way  in  which  the 
servi9al-system  comes  in  and  separates 
man  and  wife,  and  parents  and  children. 
Ukuenjeumuamue  is  a native  of  the 
Lunda  country.  Malenge,  a native  chief, 
attacked  their  village  and  caught  him 
and  his  sister.  The  sister  was  redeemed 
by  her  relatives,  but  Malenge  sold  Ukuen- 
jeumuamue to  an  Ochimbundu  trader 
called  Kanganjo,  who  brought  him  out  to 
Omukumba,  a village  near  the  Fort  in 


58 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Bihe.  Kanganjo  having  traded  with 
goods  belonging  to  a woman — a relative 
of  his — handed  her  Ukuenjeumuamue  on 
arriving  at  Omukumba.  The  woman 
gave  Ukuenjeumuamue  a wife  (Chilisun- 
gue)  probably  to  induce  him  not  to  run 
away,  but  she  (his  owner)  died,  not  long 
afterwards,  and  her  slaves  became  the 
property  of  Chapalasio,  her  brother. 
Chapalasio  sold  Ukuenjeumuamue,  his 
wife,  and  their  child  to  a native  who  had 
been  sent  up  to  Bihe  with  oxen  to  trade 
for  slaves  on  behalf  of  a half-breed  named 
Petulu,  who  lived  a little  to  the  west  of 
Bailundu.  The  price  paid  for  him,  his 
wife  and  little  one,  was  six  oxen,  and  they 
were  taken  to  Petulu.  This  was  about 
April,  1908.  They  fain  hoped  there  would 
be  no  more  changing  of  hands  for  some 
time,  but,  after  five  days,  to  their  bitter 
disappointment,  he  and  his  wife  were 
cruelly  separated  from  their  child  and 
carried  off  to  Benguella  in  charge  of  a 
native  named  Kesongo,  without  any 


A CHEQUERED  HISTORY 


59 


prospect  of  seeing  their  little  one  again. 
They  were  tied  with  ropes  every  evening 
lest  there  should  be  any  attempt  to 
escape.  On  their  arrival  at  Benguella 
they  were  taken  to  the  trading  house  of 
Chivela,  the  native  name  of  the  white 
owner.  The  next  morning  these  two, 
another  woman,  Ngombe,  and  a youth, 
Kanjata,  were  called  up  for  inspection 
before  the  white  trader  in  human  beings. 
Their  names,  and  the  names  of  the 
countries  from  which  they  came  were 
asked  for.  All  except  Ukuenjeumuamue 
were  bargained  for,  but  he,  for  some 
unknown  reason  (possibly  because  he  has 
a goitre,  or  perhaps  the  man  in  charge 
asked  too  high  a price  seeing  he  had  this 
defect)  was  allowed  to  return  to  Bihe 
carrying  a bale  of  cloth — the  price  of  his 
wife  and  the  other  slaves.  This  was  the 
last  he  saw  of  his  wife  ! On  reaching 
camp  at  a point  called  Vondamba  Yeko- 
koto,  they  met  Petulu  on  his  way  to 
the  coast  to  lodge  a complaint  with  the 


6o 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


authorities,  as  soldiers  from  the  Bailundu 
Fort  had  plundered  his  house,  the  result 
of  an  accusation  made  against  him  by  a 
white  trader  Katumbella  (native  name), 
that  ‘ ‘ he  had  been  trading  in  slaves 
without  a license.”  Ukuenjeumuamue, 
on  his  arrival  at  Petulu’s  village,  found 
a man  named  Mushide  in  charge.  One 
can  imagine  the  joy  that  filled  the 
father’s  heart  to  find  that  his  child  was 
still  there,  and  he  pleaded  that  he  might 
have  it  and  care  for  it  in  the  absence  of 
its  mother,  who  had  become  the  property 
of  the  white  trader,  and  was  probably 
already  on  her  way  to  S.  Thome  to  labour 
on  the  plantations,  till  death  came  to  her 
relief  and  put  an  end  to  the  sadness  of 
having  been  separated  from  her  husband 
and  child.  Ukuenjeumuamue,  instead  of 
receiving  the  custody  of  his  child,  found 
that  Mushide  was  already  making  arrange- 
ments to  send  him  to  the  coast  again  and 
to  try  and  sell  him  at  some  other  trading- 
house.  He  therefore  fled  to  Bihe,  but 


A CHEQUERED  HISTORY  6i 

did  not  return  to  Omukumba,  lest  they 
should  attempt  to  sell  him  again : he 
made  his  way  to  the  village  of  a man 
with  whom  he  had  struck  up  a kind  of 
friendship  before  being  sent  to  the  coast. 
This  man,  afraid  of  the  consequences  of 
sheltering  a runaway  slave,  brought  him 
to  Oka.  where  he  got  employment.  Some 
time  afterwards  he  returned  to  his  friend 
(?)  on  a visit,  but  discovering  a plot  to 
sell  him  he  got  back  to  Oka.  as  quickly 
as  he  could.  There  I met  him  and  heard 
his  story. 

Slave  Woman’s  Sad  Story 

The  following  case  ought  to  appeal  to 
all,  but  especially  the  women  of  all 
Christian  lands  : — Natiliku  is  a woman  of 
about  thirty-five  years  of  age.  I met  her 
also  at  Oka.  when  she  told  me  her  history 
with  a face  full  of  sadness.  She  is  a 
native  of  Lubaland.  One  day,  while 
working  in  her  field,  some  men  of  her  own 
tribe  caught  her  and  sold  her  to  an  Ochim- 


62 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


bundu  named  Sidiwa  of  the  Etapi  district, 
Bihe.  Lumbo,  a native  of  Ohualondo, 
went  to  Sidiwa,  after  his  return  home, 
and  demanded  payment  of  an  old  debt. 
Natiliku  was  handed  to  him  in  settlement. 
As  she  raised  some  objection  to  becoming 
Lumbo’s  concubine  he  sold  her  to  a white 
called  Siku  (native  name)  at  Okatalam- 
bango.  Lumbo  received  one  big  keg  of 
rum  and  some  cloth  in  exchange.  The 
poor  woman  was  so  badly  treated  by  her 
new  master  that  she  and  others  ran  away 
and  made  for  the  Fort,  in  the  vain  hope 
that  there  they  might  find  the  representa- 
tives of  Portuguese  authority  ready  to 
stretch  forth  a helping  hand  and  deliver 
them  from  their  cruel  owner.  I could  not 
quite  make  out  if  she  and  her  fellow- 
sufferers  ever  got  into  touch  with  the 
Chefe,  probably  not,  but  the  whites  she 
did  see  took  shameful  liberties  with  her  ! 
They  were  there  for  some  days  when  Siku 
came  in  search  of  them,  and  they  were 
simply  handed  back  to  him.  When  her 


SLAVE  WOMAN'S  SAD  STORY  63 


child  Tiliku  was  born  she  could  not 
possibly  say  if  Siku,  or  one  of  the  whites 
at  the  Fort,  was  its  father.  Siku  was, 
at  that  time,  in  business  with  his  brother 
Suse  (also  native  name),  and  when  they 
dissolved  partnership  she  became  the 
property  of  Suse.  Siku  went  further 
inland  to  trade,  and  Suse  sold  her  and 
her  child  to  another  white,  Nangayafina, 
at  Ochiposo,  near  to  Sakanjimba.  Nan- 
gayafina beat  her  so  unmercifully  one 
evening,  and  again  the  following  morning, 
because  she  had  failed  to  do  some  work 
exactly  to  his  pleasing,  that  she  fled  to 
Och.  She  was  there,  perhaps  a year, 
and  was  then  sent  to  Oka.  lest  some  of 
the  many  whites  coming  about  might 
attempt  to  steal  her.  When  I met  her 
at  Oka.  she  had  been  there  about  eighteen 
months,  and  the  whites  were  doing  their 
utmost  to  get  hold  of  her.  Having  a 
mulatto  child  probably  attracts  their 
attention.  She  is  terrified  lest  they  should 
be  successful  in  their  designs  against  her. 


64 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


and  seems  determined,  eost  what  it  may, 
never  again  to  submit  to  the  indignities 
she  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  those 
who  ought  to  have  been  her  instructors 
in  morality,  instead  of  showing  her  that 
they  are  on  a far  lower  platform  of  morals 
than  she  was  ever  brought  into  contact 
with  among  her  own  people  ! 

Did  she  leave  her  home  in  the  interior 
willingly  ? Did  she  become  the  slave  of 
the  different  whites  mentioned  of  her 
own  free  will  ? And  does  the  fact  of  her 
determination  to  face  anything,  even 
death  itself,  rather  than  again  undergo 
the  sufferings  she  has  passed  through, 
bear  out  the  idea  that  the  slaves,  or 
serviQaes  (call  them  what  you  will)  are 
happier  and  better  off  with  their  white 
‘ ‘ redeemers  ” than  they  are  in  their  own  home 
surroundings  and  among  their  own  people  ? 

Abuse  of  Power  by  Official 

29th.— I was  staying  at  Ochis,  and,  in 
the  afternoon,  an  American  dropped  in 


The  only  three  left  out  of  fifty  liberated  I Boy  slave  and  man  who 

slaves  (p.  102)  I bought  him  for  is.  4d.  (p.  103) 

A gang  of  slaves  from  the  interior  (pp.  86,  176) 


ABUSE  OF  POWER  BY  OFFICIAL  65 


very  unexpectedly.  He  wore  a very  holey 
hat,  part  of  an  undershirt,  part  of  a pair 
of  trousers,  short  socks  and  heavy  boots. 
He  would  have  been  more  decently 
covered  had  he  been  dressed  in  an 
ordinary  bathing  costume.  In  the  course 
of  conversation  we  learned  he  was  Thomas 
H.,  a native  of  New  York  City,  and  had 
tramped  from  Durban  to  Katanga,  &c., 
and  thence  to  Bihe  en  route  for  BengueUa, 
and  America  if  possible.  He  had  travelled 
from  the  Portuguese  fort  at  Moxico  with 
some  waggons  which  were  accompanied 
by  certain  whites,  the  most  famous 
(famous  for  his  misdeeds)  of  whom  was 

a certain  Portuguese  Lieutenant  M . 

This  Lieutenant,  with  whose  authority 
no  one  seems  to  know  (perhaps  only 
his  own),  gave  orders  to  the  whites,  and 
also  to  the  drivers  of  the  waggons, 
that,  if  they  saw  any  Chokwe  natives, 
they  were  to  make  them  prisoners  or  to 
shoot  them  down.  The  only  reason  given 
was  that  natives  of  that  tribe  had  plun- 


66 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


dered  some  goods  belonging  to  the  Portu- 
guese ! They  failed  to  catch,  or  shoot, 
anyone  for  some  days,  and  then  the 
amiable  M.  gave  orders  to  enter  a village 
and  catch  some  women  to  incite  the 
Vachokue  to  rescue  them.  This  had  the 
desired  effect,  and  the  natives  chivalrously 
made  the  forlorn  attempt,  with  the  result 
that  every  breech-loader  that  could  be 
mustered  was  turned  upon  them.  How 
many  were  hit  no  one  seemed  to  know, 
but  some  were  caught  and  made  prisoners 
because  of  their  dastardly  attack  upon 
the  whites,  and  M.  declared  he  would 
take  them  to  some  island  near  India, 
which  probably  means  S.  Thome  (?),  after 
they  have  gone  through  the  “ contract- 
ing ’ ’ regulations  at  the  coast,  and  taken 
their  place  among  others  obtained  under 
similar,  or  worse,  conditions,  but,  of 
course,  all  going  of  their  own  free  will. 

This  kind  of  thing  may  make  it  very 
difficult  and  dangerous  for  anyone  who, 
like  myself,  will  so  soon  be  passing  through 


ABUSE  OF  POWER  BY  OFFICIAL  67 


this  tribe  ! And  why  should  they  not 
retaliate  and  wreak  their  vengeance  on 
the  first  white  (even  though  innocent)  who 
falls  into  their  hands  ? Their  act  would 
be  pure  justice  in  comparison  with  the 
treatment  they  have  received. 

December  2nd. — The  following  case  was 

reported  to  Mr. by  Sakamana,  who 

is  a Christian  teacher  at  Olu,  Bihe  : — 

C , of  Olu.,  is  an  Ochimbundu  with  a 

sprinkling  of  white  blood  in  him,  who 
speaks  Portuguese.  He  bought  a girl 

from  Snr. of  K , for  an  ox. 

The  girl’s  name  was  Matumbo.  C 

afterwards  took  the  girl  to  a white 

trader  beyond  S , and  sold  her  for 

160  yards  of  cloth.  This  case  occurred 
about  two  months  ago. 

Natives’  Dread  of  Authorities 

Another  case  reported  to  Mr. 

occurred  some  three  or  four  months  ago. 

A man  named  Kan,  of  K , 

Bihe,  had  a slave,  Kany,  who  carried 


68 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


a load  of  rubber  some  distance  for  Snr. 

, of  K (the  same  white 

trader  mentioned  above).  When  the  time 
came  for  Kany  to  receive  his  pay 
the  load  of  rubber  was  put  on  the  scales, 
and  200  grammes  (or  one-fifth  of  a kilo) 
was  said  to  be  lacking.  The  trader 
declared  the  rubber  had  been  stolen  and 
because  of  the  theft  Kany  must  be- 
come his  slave.  (Anyone  acquainted  with 
the  rubber  trade  knows  that  in  a very 
short  journey  rubber  “ dries  out  ” con- 
siderably). There  was  no  help  for  the 
poor  fellow,  and  like  as  in  thousands  of 
other  cases,  which  are  never  heard  of 
except  by  the  individuals  concerned,  he 
had  to  submit  to  the  inevitable,  as,  in 
spite  of  all  that  has  been  said  to  the 
contrary,  there  is  practically  no  justice 
for  the  black  when  a white  man  is  in 
question.  Numbers  are  ready  to  bear 
testimony  to  this  fact.  After  serving  the 
trader  for  a time  he  ran  away  to  his  old 
master  Kan,  and  pleaded  with  him 


NATIVES’  DREAD  OF  AUTHORITIES  69 


to  buy  him  back.  He  slept  at  Kan’s, 
and  the  next  day  a load  of  rubber  was 
given  to  ‘ ‘ redeem  ’ ’ him.  The  trader 
took  the  rubber  but  refused  to  give  back 
the  slave,  saying,  ‘ ‘ I keep  the  rubber  as 
well  because  you  allowed  the  man  to 
sleep  in  your  village  instead  of  ordering 
him  to  come  back  to  me  at  once.”  Mr. 

was  astonished  at  such  injustice, 

and  asked,  ‘ ‘ Why  did  Kan  not  go 
to  the  Chefe  at  the  Fort  and  lodge  a 
complaint  against  the  trader  ? ” The 
reply  given  is  worthy  of  special  note,  as 
it  explains  why  the  natives  are  ready  to 
suffer  almost  anything  rather  than  appeal 
to  the  authorities  ; it  was  as  follows  : — 
‘ ‘ Why  go  to  the  Chefe  ? Is  it  worth 
your  while  to  ask  the  river  to  champion 
your  cause  against  the  lake,  when  you 
can  only  get  water  from  either  ? ” The 
slave  has  since  disappeared,  and,  if  he 
has  not  been  sent  to  S.  Thome  as  a 
servi9al,  he  is  at  least  serving  his  white 
benefactors  as  one  who  has  offered  to  do 


70 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


SO  of  his  own  free  will ! It  will  be  clearly 
seen  that  this  slave,  instead  of  costing 
70  or  80  mil  reis,  was  reduced  to  his 
present  position  on  the  trumped-up  charge 
of  having  stolen  less  than  half-a-pound  of 
rubber,  and  subsequently  the  trader  re- 
ceived a load  of  rubber,  into  the  bargain  ! 

Some  may  ask  ‘ ‘ Why  did  not  Mr. 

himself  go  and  see  the  trader  about  the 
matter  ? ’ ’ He  would  certainly  have 
done  so,  had  he  not  been  afraid  that  such 
an  action  might  have  brought  a third  loss 
on  the  first  o^vner  of  the  slave. 

A Complicated  Case 

The  following  case  is  a very  com- 
plicated one,  and  will  need  careful  reading 
to  see  through  its  intricacies,  but  I record 
it  here  that  anyone  really  interested  in 
the  present  condition  of  things  in  Angola 
may  see  how  interminable  is  the  custom 
of  ‘ ‘ eating  crimes  ’ ’ among  the  natives, 
and  also  how  the  white  traders  come  in 
and  get  their  share.  The  case  was  related 


A COMPLICATED  CASE 


n 


to  me  by  the  parties  in  question  at  Ochi : 
— A native  named  Chihambakola  owned 
a woman  slave  and  her  child.  For  some 
reason  the  woman  fled  to  Chikola’s,  at 
Chisende.  Chikola  communicated  with 
Somaetunda,  one  of  the  head  men  of 
Chivava,  the  chief  of  the  district  of 
Chisende.  Somaetunda  took  the  woman 
and  child  to  Chivava,  and  the  case  was 
arranged  by  Chivava  keeping  the  woman 
and  Chikola  the  child.  Thus  the  mother 
and  the  little  one  were  separated.  (Oh, 
the  heart-aches  of  the  mothers  in  Africa  !) 
Afterwards  Chivava  was  taken  prisoner 
and  killed  for  the  part  he  took  in  the 
rebellion  of  1902.  Then  Chihambakola 
went  to  Somaetunda,  saying,  “ Give  me 
back  my  slave  and  child.  ’ ’ Somaetunda 
replied  that  he  had  not  kept  either  the 
woman  or  the  child,  Chivava  had  taken 
one  and  Chikola  the  other.  Somaetunda 
refused  “to  pay,”  and  Chihambakola 
went  to  the  Fort  and  lodged  his  complaint, 
the  result  of  which  was  that  Somaetunda 


72 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


had  to  pay  about  two  loads  of  rubber, 
a lad,  an  ox,  a gun,  and  a pig.  After  a 
time  Somaetunda  went  and  demanded  the 
things  back  again,  saying  he  had  been  a 
fool  to  pay  under  such  circumstances. 

Chipachamoma,  a native  trader,  went 
to  the  interior  to  trade,  and  he  took  with 
him  a young  man,  Chipusu,  the  son  of 
a woman  called  Silongua.  Chipusu  quar- 
relled with  some  of  the  carriers,  and 
Chipachamoma  said  he  paid  twenty-four 
yards  of  cloth  and  a gun  to  get  him  out 
of  the  scrape.  Later,  Chipachamoma 
sent  him  ahead  of  the  caravan  to  overtake 
another  trader,  Tulumba,  and  to  deliver 
him  some  message.  Chipusu,  before  he 
reached  Tulumba,  was  caught  by  the 
Luba  natives,  who  cut  off  his  head, 
giving  as  their  reason  that  Tulumba  had 
plundered  them.  (This  was  probably 
true,  I knew  Tulumba,  and  he  was  re- 
nowned for  plundering  and  trading  in 
slaves.)  In  the  course  of  time  the  cara- 
vans returned  to  Bihe.  Silongua,  the 


A COMPLICATED  CASE  73 

mother,  naturally,  went  to  Chipachamoma 
and  said,  ‘ ‘ You  took  my  son  away, 
where  is  he  ? ” Chipachamoma’ s reply 
was,  ‘ ‘ Chipusu  got  me  into  much  trouble, 
I paid  cloth  and  a gun  to  get  him  free, 
so  you  must  become  my  slave.  ’ ’ Chipa- 
chamoma took  the  poor  mother  off  to  a 

white,  Snr.  , of  S , and 

handed  her  in  in  payment  of  a debt ! 
Silongua  had  nothing  with  which  to  re- 
deem herself,  so  she  asked  leave  to  go  to 
Sachivovo,  brother  and  heir  of  Somae- 
tunda,*  who  in  the  meantime  had  died,  to 
get  from  him  an  ox  which,  in  some  way,  he 
owed  her,  that  she  might  redeem  herself. 
Leave  was  granted  her,  and  she  went 
accompanied  by  some  Ovimbali  (white 
man’s  servants).  Sachivovo  said,  “ Go 
to  Chihambakola,  he  owes  us.  ’ ’ Chiham- 
bakola  was  away,  and,  in  his  absence,  his 
uncle  took  his  (Chihambakola’s)  own 
sister,  Kasova,  and  said  they  might  keep 


* Somaetunda  was  the  head  man  who  carried  the  woman 
and  her  child  to  Chivava.  See  first  part  of  story. 


74 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


her  as  a pledge  and  they  would  redeem 
her  in  a few  days.  Silongua  took  Kasova 

to  Snr. , but  he,  instead  of  setting 

Silongua  free  at  once,  took  her  on  a 
journey  to  the  interior,  promising  to  let 
her  free  on  his  return.  Afterwards  Snr. 

— sent  Silongua  back  and  gave  her 

a letter  to  his  partner,  Snr. , telling 

him  to  let  her  go  back  to  her  village. 
(I  very  much  question  if  the  letter  con- 
tained any  such  instructions,  though  he 
probably  told  her  it  did.)  This  junior 
partner  said  he  could  not  let  her  go  till 
his  senior  partner’s  return  ! As  soon  as 
she  got  a chance  she  ran  away  and  sought 

refuge  with  Mr. , an  intimate  friend 

of  mine,  at  whose  house  I met  her.  The 
junior  partner  soon  followed  after  her, 
but  my  friend  refused  to  give  her  up. 
Presently  Chihambakola  gave  to  Sachi- 
vovo  two  loads  of  rubber  and  an  ox  to 
redeem  his  sister  Kasova,  but  Sachivovo, 
instead  of  doing  so,  ‘ ‘ ate  ’ ’ the  rubber 
and  the  ox,  saying,  “ These  will  do  for 


A COMPLICATED  CASE 


75 


what  you  owe  us^  In  the  meantime  the 
junior  partner  had  sold  Kasova  to  Snr. 
, of  0— , and  there  she  is  to- 
day working  among  that  individual’s 
servi9aes.  One  day  the  woman  Silongua 

went  to  see  one  of  her  children  at  S , 

the  district  where  Sachivovo  lives.  While 
she  was  there  Chihambakola  turned  up 
to  get  his  rubber  and  ox.  He  said 
Silongua  and  Sachivovo  must  become  his 
prisoners  till  he  got  his  ‘ ‘ money  ’ ’ back. 
Seeing  the  woman  did  not  return,  my 
friend  sent  six  men  in  search  of  her,  with 
instructions  to  bring  her  back  if  possible. 
The  result  was  that  Chihambakola,  Sachi- 
vovo, and  Silongua  all  went  to  my  friend’s 
where  I heard  these  particulars  from  their 
own  lips.  Chihambakola  said  that  all  he 
wanted  was  to  get  his  “ money  ” back 
that  he  might  redeem  his  sister  Kasova 
from  Snr. , of  O . 

Considering  the  above,  can  anyone,  by 
the  wildest  flight  of  the  imagination,  make 
out  that  Silongua  or  Kasova  became 


76 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


slaves,  or  servi9aes,  as  they  are  called,  of 
their  own  free  will  ? Had  it  not  been  for 
my  friend’s  intervention,  Silongua  would 
have  continued  to  be  as  hopelessly  a slave 
of  the  whites  as  Kasova  is,  and  probably 
will  be  till  the  day  of  her  death,  though 
she,  poor  girl,  is  no  more  worthy  of  being 
the  slave  and  puppet  of  the  whites  than 
any  woman  who  may  read  this  is  ! 

How  Natives  have  to  “Redeem” 

The  only  possible  way  for  a native  to 
‘ ‘ redeem  ’ ’ a native  from  a white  is  by 
giving  two,  or  the  price  of  two  ! 

In  the  month  of  August,  this  year,  a 
native  named  Kapapelo  took  cloth  and 

rum  from  Snr. , of  Ohw.,  to  gather 

and  ration  carriers'for  the  coast.  He  and 
his  friends  drank  the  rum  and  bought 
more  with  the  cloth,  and  drank  it  also. 
He  became  so  helplessly  intoxicated  that 
in  crossing  the  Kunehe  River,  he  lost  his 
balance,  feU  into  the  rushing  stream,  and 
was  drowned.  Snr.  — went  down  to 


HOW  NATIVES  '^REDEEM" 


77 


Chipindu,  the  uncle  of  Kapapelo,  and 
demanded  payment  for  his  cloth  and  rum. 
He  received  an  ox  and  a lad  named 
Katumua ! 

Here  we  have  the  sad  results  of  a 
drunken  spree,  the  necessaries  for  which 
were  supplied  by  the  white  ! The  white, 
of  course,  can  never  be  the  loser,  so 
Chipindu’ s ox  is  taken  and  Katumua 
becomes  a slave  till  the  day  of  his  death  ! 
Was  he  a free-will  servi9al  ? 

About  two  years  ago,  a mother  of  five 
children  was  torn  from  her  family,  and 

sold  to  Snr. , of  0 , for  cloth 

and  rum  by  a native  named  Chindele. 
Her  name  is  Linala.  In  vain  her  children 
wept  and  implored  Chindele  not  to  sell 
their  mother.  The  relatives  of  Linala, 
hearing  of  this,  decided  to  redeem  her, 
but  the  trader  would  not  let  her  free  until 
they  paid  him  an  ox,  and  a lad  of  about 
thirteen  years. 

These  cases  of  redeeming  are  constantly 
occurring,  but  they  are  always  to  the 


78 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


advantage  of  the  trader.  In  this  instance 
he  got  the  lad,  who  would  in  aU  probability 
work  many  more  years  than  the  elderly 
woman,  and  he  had  the  ox  into  the 
bargain.  Anyone  who  has  had  extended 
experience  in  the  country  can  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  when  a trader 
settles  in  a district  the  natives’  cattle 
and  domestic  slaves  gradually  decrease, 
while  the  white  man’s  herds  and  servi9aes 
become  correspondingly  increased.  In 
many  cases  the  whites,  who  are  now  in 
opulent  circumstances,  came  into  the 
country  with  nothing. 

About  April  of  this  year  (1908)  Snr. 

, residing  in  the  Oka.  district, 

sent  his  servant  to  Ohw.  to  claim  a 
‘ ‘ person  ’ ’ to  take  the  place  of  another 
who  had  died.  The  dead  slave  had 
worked  for  over  ten  years,  but  the  trader 
did  not  consider  this  sufficient  to  work 
out  the  money  he  had  paid  for  her ! 
The  servant  ‘ ‘ tied  up  ’ ’ Kambuete’s 
sister,  called  Elinya,  and  her  two  little 


HOW  NATIVES  REDEEM" 


79 


children.  Her  husband  had  to  ‘ ‘ redeem” 
her  by  paying  a woman  and  her  baby. 
They  are  now  the  white  man’s  property 
to  continue  the  work  the  deceased  slave 
left  unfinished  ! 

Speaking  with  another  trader,  Snr. 

, about  this  individual  and  his 

doings  (for  I have  noted  several  of  his 
episodes,  of  which  the  above  is  a fair 
sample),  he  said  he  was  “ doido  ” (mad), 
but  he  is  “ doido  ’ ’ in  the  same  line  that 
most  of  the  traders  are  in  their  dealings 
with  the  helpless  natives.  I suppose  the 
woman  and  her  baby  are  registered  as 
willing  servi9aes,  and,  according  to  the 
law,  all  is  correct  and  in  order  ! Oh,  the 
shame  and  injustice,  not  only  to  the 
woman  and  child,  but  also  to  the  relatives 
of  Elinya  ! 

Unsuccessful  Attempt  to  Escape 

The  following  occurred  in  the  same 
district.  A woman,  Chilalela,  ran  to  a 
friend  of  mine  with  her  youngest  child 


8o 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


on  her  back  in  a great  state  of  excitement, 
saying  she  had  discovered  that  Kanganjo, 
the  nephew  of  her  master,  was  about  to 
give  her  to  a trader  for  cloth,  &c.,  which 
he  had  already  received.  She  pleaded 
with  my  friend  to  protect  her.  She  was 
advised  to  remain  that  night.  Early  next 
morning  she  set  out  for  Ochiyanga,  to  see 
if  a relative  there  could  do  anything  for 
her,  but  on  the  way  she  changed  her  mind 
and  returned.  Unfortunate  was  her  de- 
cision, for  she  met  Kanganjo  on  the  way  ; 
he  immediately  secured  her  and  led  her 

to  Snr. , to  whom  she  was  delivered. 

My  friend,  on  hearing  of  her  fate,  went  to 
the  trader  and  protested  that  Kanganjo 
had  no  right  to  sell  Chilalela  and  her 
child,  and  also  that  the  trader  had  trans- 
gressed the  law  in  buying  them.  He 
rephed  that  they  might  feel  perfectly  free 
to  accuse  him  at  the  Fort,  the  woman  and 
child  were  brought  to  him  and  he  bought 
her  for  his  own  work  and  not  for  ‘ ‘ ne- 
gocio  ” (i.  e.,  not  to  trade  with)  ! Any- 


Natijila  (p.  103) 
Seputnuma  (p.  106) 


Ukuahainba  (p.  104) 
Musole  and  child  (p.  113) 


ATTEMPT  TO  ESCAPE 


8i 


one  reading  this  will  naturally  say,  ‘ ‘ And 
why  did  your  friend  not  appeal  to  the 
authorities  ? ’ ’ The  answer  is  a very 
simple  one.  My  friends  so  seldom  get 
any  satisfaction  when  they  take  such 
cases  to  the  authorities,  that  they  look 
upon  such  a procedure  as  hopeless. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  Sanjimba  told 

INIr. that  Chisamboti,  a boy  whom 

]Mr. knew  well,  had  been  sold  and 

he  was  going  round  the  traders’  houses  to 

search  for  him.  He  found  him  at  S 

in  the  house  of  Snr. . Sanjimba 

returned  in  the  evening  and  asked  if  Mr. 

would  write  a note  to  the  trader 

saying  that  Chisamboti  was  his  relative, 
and  the  trader  would  give  him  up.  Mr. 
— wrote  saying,  ‘ ‘ The  bearer,  San- 

jimba, told  me  this  morning  that  he  was 
going  in  search  of  his  relative,  whom  he 
eventually  found  in  your  house.  This  is 
merely  to  say  that  the  boy,  Chisamboti, 
is  his  relative,  and  that  Lunjala  (the 
young  fellow  who  sold  him)  had  no 


82 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


authority  to  do  so.  ’ ’ Snr. replied, 

saying,  “ Lunjala  handed  me  this  lad 
for  forty-five  mil  reis.  In  case  his  brother, 
or  Lunjala,  desires  to  give  something  else 
in  exchange  I can  return  him.  Or  if  you 
take  the  responsibility,  I will  agree.” 
(This  letter  is  in  my  possession.)  Mr. 

replied,  saying  that,  seeing  it  was 

a clear  case  of  buying  and  selling,  he  could 
have  nothing  more  to  do  with  it.  Chis- 

amboti  was  afterwards  sent  to  Snr. 

of  S , where  he  was  seen  by  his 

relatives. 

This  Snr. , of  S , is  the 

white  who  was  seen  with  the  gang  of 
slaves  by  my  carriers,  when  they  were  on 
their  way  to  the  coast  to  take  me  up 
country,  and  who  told  me  there  had  been 
great  mortality  among  the  whites  in  Bihe, 
evidently  thinking  to  frighten  me  from 
entering  the  country.  I saw  and  spoke 
with  the  white  he  had  left  in  charge  of 
his  establishment  in  Bihe,  and  he  told  me 
that  his  employer,  after  my  conversation 


ATTEMPT  TO  ESCAPE 


83 


with  him  at  the  coast,  fell  sick  and 
decided  to  go  at  once  to  Europe,  leaving 
him  with  great  responsibilities.  I should 
think  this  last  statement  is  true,  for  the 
establishment  seems  to  be  a “ recruiting  ” 
station,  seeing  the  whites  of  the  district 
send  all  the  servigaes,  for  export,  there. 
Chisamboti  is  now  probably  settled  down 
to  his  monotonous  toil  in  the  islands  for 

the  rest  of  his  life.  The  man,  Snr. , 

left  in  charge  of  the  place,  told  Mr. 

that  he  was  heartily  sick  of  the  whole 
business  ! 

Affection  Among  Natives 

The  day  I arrived  in  Bihe,  a native, 
Sachilombe,  came  to  one  of  my  friends 
for  an  ox  he  had  been  keeping  in'^a  herd, 
with  a few  others  belonging  to  my  friend, 

as  he  wished  to  pay  it  to  Snr. , of 

S , to  redeem  an  elderly  woman 

whom  Sangeve  and  Sambaja,  his  brothers, 
had  sold  for  cloth  and  rum.  Had  Sachi- 
lombe known  of  their  intention  to  sell 


84 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


her  he  would  have  prevented  their  doing 
so.  However,  seeing  she  was  already  in 
the  hands  of  the  white  man,  he  wished 
to  redeem  her,  as  she  was  to  him  like  a 
sister.  The  two  were  brought  up  to- 
gether, his  parents  having  owned  her 
from  her  childhood.  He,  Sachilombe,  went 

to  Snr. and  offered  to  redeem  her, 

but  before  he  was  able  to  get  the  needed 
things  together,  she  fled  from  the  traders 
and  returned  to  her  old  village.  The 
trader  sent  a servant  to  say  he  did  not 
want  her  again  as  she  was  too  old  (mean- 
ing that  he  wanted  someone,  or  something, 
in  her  place).  Sachilombe  exchanged  his 
ox  for  one  slightly  taller,  which  he  took, 
with  a bull,  to  the  trader’s.  The  trader 
said  he  must  have  twenty  kilos  of  rubber 
in  addition  to  the  two  animals.  The 
woman  is  now  at  Savisete. 

The  traders,  and  many  others  who 
know  very  little  of  what  they  assert,  say 
the  natives  know  nothing  of  love  or 
affection.  Does  the  above  not  give  the 


AFFECTION  AMONG  NATIVES  85 


lie  to  such  statements  ? Which  of  the 
two,  Sachilombe  or  the  trader,  showed 
affection  in  this  case  ? Does  this  simple 
story  not  show  also  what  a great  hiatus 
exists  between  native  domestic  slavery 
and  the  heartless  and  shameful  slave 
trade  of  the  whites  ? 

Another  friend  of  mine,  who  told  me  of 
several  sad  proofs  of  the  slave  trade,  writes 
that  on  the  demise  of  Sakapinala,  an  old 
man  who  lived  near  his  house,  his  nephew, 
Chinidele,  sold  Chipondiya,  Sakapinala’s 

slave  wife,  to  Snr. near  by,  and 

not  long  after  sold  his  own  slave  wife  to 
the  same  trader.  Both  the  women  may  be 
seen  any  day  at  work  in  the  trader’s  fields. 

Slaves  for  Life! 

9th. — In  passing  through  Sangongola 

I had  some  conversation  with  Snr. , 

who  is  in  charge  of  Snr. ’s  place. 

When  I left  him  I came  across  five  of 
his  slaves  working  in  a field.  After 
taking  their  photo.  I entered  into  con- 


86 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


versation  with  them,  and  among  other 
things  touched  upon,  the  following  passed 
between  us  : — 

‘ ‘ Are  you  working  here  of  your  own 
free  will  ? ” 

“ No,  we  are  slaves  of  the  white  man.” 

“ How  did  you  become  slaves  ? ” 

‘ ‘ The  white  man  bought  us.  ’ ’ 

“ The  whites  say  that  such  as  you  are 
always  set  free  after  working  a certain 
number  of  years.  Is  this  true  ? ’ ’ 

An  incredulous  sickly  smile  came  over 
their  faces  as  they  replied,  “It  is  not 
true,  we  are  slaves  for  life  ! ’ ’ and  they 
stooped  again  to  their  work. 

A Gang  of  Slaves 

We  left  Bihe  on  the  1 5th  for  the  Chokwe 
(or  Chibokwe)  country,  and  the  next  day, 
shortly  after  leaving  camp,  we  came  to 
a white  trader’s  establishment  at  Saka- 
yuela,  and,  at  not  more  than  300  yards 
distance,  was  a camp  in  which  our  men 
espied  a number  of  slaves.  We  entered 


A GANG  OF  SLAVES 


87 


and  found  ten  women,  one  man,  and  nine 
children.  They  were  from  the  Lunda, 
Chibokwe  and  Imba  countries.  The  old 
woman  in  charge  of  them  was  a regular 
hag  of  about  sixty  years  ! During  my 
residence  in  the  Garenganzi  country 
(Katanga  of  the  Congo  Free  State), 
about  nineteen  years  ago,  she  came  there 
to  trade.  I was  somewhat  ashamed  when 
she  recognised  me  as  an  old  acquaintance  ! 
She  is  a sister,  or  a very  near  relative,  of 
the  well-known  slave  trader  named  Honjo, 
who  died  some  years  ago.  This  man 
practically  sold  his  own  sister  to  Mushide, 
the  chief  of  Garenganzi.  The  old  woman 
we  met  with  the  slaves  on  this  occasion, 
if  not  a half-breed,  has  considerable  white 
blood  in  her  veins.  Of  course,  she  pro- 
tested that  the  natives  with  her  were  all 
her  “children,  and  not  slaves,’’  but 
when  one  of  our  men  entered  her  own 
hut  and  pulled  out  five  women  who  were 
huddled  into  a corner,  and  she  saw  we 
were  determined  to  photograph  them, 


88 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


she  became  very  angry,  and  cried,  ‘ ‘ They 
are  all  my  slaves,  and  who  has  any  right 
to  interfere  with  them  ? ’ ’ She  was 
evidently  passing  along  the  somewhat 
unfrequented  route,  across  which  we  had 
decided  to  travel,  to  escape  the  Forts  at 
the  Quanza  and  in  Bihe. 

Suffering  for  Relatives’  Crimes! 

Allow  me  to  mention  the  following  case 
to  show  how  difficult  it  is  for  an  ordinary 
native  to  get  anything  like  justice,  though 
the  representatives  of  Portuguese  author- 
ity are  not  always  to  blame,  it  is  often 
their  subordinates  upon  whom  they  fail 
to  maintain  the  necessary  vigilance.  On 
the  6th  of  this  month  I went  across  to 
Ohualondo  to  baptise  three  natives,  and 
while  there  I saw  and  interviewed  a man 
named  Ndumba  who  was  sick  and  had 
gone  to  the  station  for  treatment.  Before 
seeing  him  I had  heard  of  the  hard  ex- 
periences of  his  poor  old  father,  Sakuayela. 
In  a very  straightforward  way  he  told  me 


RELATIVES’  CRIMES 


89 


the  following : — A native,  named  Elambu, 
went  to  the  Fort  and  professed  to  get  a 
letter  giving  him  permission  ‘ ‘ to  eat  a 
crime”  with  Sakuayela.*  Elambu’s  case 
was  this  : — Long  ago  his  relatives  had  to 
pay  the  relatives  of  Sakuayela  for  a case  of 
witchcraft.  The  persons  in  question  were 
all  dead  except  Sakuayela,  who  was  a 
baby  in  his  mother’s  arms  when  ‘ ‘ the 
crime  was  eaten.”  However,  as  he  was 
. of  the  ‘ ‘ same  blood,”  he  was  responsible. 
Sakuayela  is  now  about  eighty  years  old ! 
Feeling  keenly  the  injustice  of  this  claim, 

* It  is  necessary  to  explain  that  natives  who  speak  and  writ® 
Portuguese,  and  even  the  whites  themselves,  often 
give  letters  which  the  uneducated  natives,  with  their 
superstitious  dread  of  anything  like  a letter,  no  matter 
what  it  contains,  think  are  from  the  Chefe  and  per- 
mission “to  eat  crimes,”  i.  e.,  to  make  them  pay 
for  real  or  concocted  offences.  Another  thing  which 
needs  explanation  is,  that  it  is  understood  among  the 
natives  that  the  Portuguese  authorities  insist  that 
those  who  have  received  payments  from  their  fellows, 
for  supposed  cases  of  witchcraft,  &c.,  return  every- 
thing to  those  who  have  paid.  Years  ago,  when  I 
was  here,  these  cases  were  constantly  brought  up  at 
the  Fort,  and  they  were  quite  a source  of  income  for 
the  unscrupulous  traders  and  smarter  natives,  for, 
where  is  the  man  who  has  not  at  some  time  eaten 
a crime  for  witchcraft  ? 


90 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


and  not  believing  that  the  Chefe  eould 
have  sanctioned  it,  he  started  for  the 
Fort.  On  the  way  he  was  met  by 
Elambu  and  a Portuguese-speaking  native, 
Antonio.  (He  is  well  known  in  Bihe 
for  his  propensity  of  riding  rough-shod 
over  his  less  cute  fellows.)  They  bound 
the  old  man  and  carried  him  back  to 
his  village,  and  he,  afraid  to  death,  paid 
three  slaves,  four  oxen,  two  pounds  of 
rubber,  one  hundred  and  forty-four  yards 
of  cloth,  two  pigs,  and  a goat ! Again  he 
set  out  for  the  Fort  to  see  if  he  could  get 
justice,  but  some  white  there  (evidently 
it  was  not  the  Chefe),  instead  of  helping 
the  poor  old  man,  said  he  must  pay 
another  load  of  rubber  to  Antonio  for 
the  trouble  he  had  had  in  the  case  ! 
The  old  man  told  them  they  might  as  well 
kill  him  at  once,  as  they  had  already 
taken  all  his  possessions  from  him  ! 
January,  1909. 

Our  journey  from  Bihe  through  the 
Chokwe  country  and  back,  occupied  from 


RELATIVES'  CRIMES 


91 


15th  December  to  20th  January.  For 
some  reason*  comparatively  few  shackles 
and  skeletons  were  seen.  Shackles  were 
hanging  on  the  trees  and  lying  about 
to  the  West  of  the  Kasae  and  East  of 
the  Quanza.  Among  the  fourteen 
shackles  near  the  Quanza  there  were 
two  to  hold  four  slaves  each.  This 
is  somewhat  unusual.  Those  near  the 
Kasae  River  have  evidently  been  used 
for  the  natives  bought  or  captured 
in  Luba-land,  &c.,  and  naturally  it  was 
thought  they  would  not  attempt  to  escape 
lest  they  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Vachokwe,  so  the  shackles  could  be  dis- 
pensed with  ; while  those  at  the  Quanza 
were  probably  used  for  the  natives  secured 
further  West. 

Rum  and  Base  Injustice 

On  three  occasions  the  Vachokwe 
offered  to  sell  us  slaves.  Near  the  Kasae 

* I will  not  attempt  to  explain,  for  what  I saw  on  my  journey 
up  from  the  coast  shows  it  cannot  be  because  of  much 
diminution  in  the  slave  trade. 


92 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


they  said  they  would  let  us  have  a big 
strong  man,  “ whose  whiskers  were  just 
beginning  to  grow,”  for  160  yards  of 
cloth.  (This  would  equal  about  £3  5s.) 
We  then  inquired  if  they  would  not  sell 
us  some  Chokwe  slaves.  ‘ ‘ What,  ’ ’ they 
asked,  ” the  Vachokwe  sell  Vachokwe  ? ” 
They  simply  laughed  at  the  idea.  The 
man  they  offered  us  was  a Lunda  native. 
This  just  confirms  what  we  have  always 
heard  of  this  tribe: — namely,  they  never 
sell  their  own  people. 

But  the  whites  need  slaves,  and  they 
must  have  them,  so  something  must  be 
done,  and  some  excuse  put  forward,  to 
get  hold  of  jthe  Vachokwe — the  natives 
who  refuse  to  sell  those  of  their  own 
tribe.  The  following  will  show  how  this 
has  been  worked.  A trader  known  by 

the  name  Visese  (Snr. ) went  into 

the  interior  to  trade.  He  was  evidently 
accompanied  by  other  whites  and  a very 
large  following,  all  well  armed.  One  of 
the  whites  was  left  in  part  of  the  Chokwe 


RUM  AND  BASE  INJUSTICE 


93 


country  called  Makoko,  which  is,  or  was, 
ruled  over  by  the  chief  Satanda.  The 
white,  probably  acting  on  Visese’s  in- 
structions, gave  the  chief  a quantity  of 
the  vile  rum  which  all  the  traders  carry.* 
The  chief  drank  the  rum  and  died  shortly 
afterwards ! The  natives,  it  is  said,  made 
the  white  a prisoner  for  some  time,  but 
eventually  they  let  him  free,  declaring 
they  would  settle  accounts  with  Visese 
himself  on  his  return  from  the  further 
interior.  When  he  appeared  the  case  was 
discussed,  but  the  final  result  was  that  the 
natives  made  a miserably  weak  attack  on 
Visese  and  his  crowd  for  ‘ ‘ killing  their 
chief.”  How  many  natives  were  killed  as 
the  result  nobody  seems  to  know,  but  here 
was  the  very  chance  and  excuse  so  long 
desired  of  making  the  Vachokwe  slaves. 

* I am  of  the  opinion  that  the  traders  deal  so  largely  in  rum 
not  merely  because  of  what  they  make  directly  out 
of  its  sale,  but  also  because  a drunken  native  serves 
their  purpose  better  than  a sober  one.  In  how  many 
of  the  cases  of  buying,  selling,  and  stealing,  that  I 
have  had  brought  to  my  knowledge  does  rum  play 
a prominent  part ! 


94 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Visese  and  his  marauders  began  in  real 
earnest,  and  men,  women,  and  childrenwere 
caught  in  considerable  numbers.  Visese 
gave  as  his  excuse  that  he  was  attacked 
all  along  the  route.  We  travelled  over 
the  same  ground  for  days  and  heard  the 
natives’  own  account  of  what  had  tran- 
spired. The  natives  who  ferried  him  and 
his  carriers  across  the  Quanza  said  that 
he  himself  boasted  to  them  that  he  had 
caught  1,000  slaves  ! This  I cannot  be- 
lieve to  be  true,  but  in  Bihe  it  was 
reported  both  by  blacks  and  whites  that 
he  brought  out  hundreds.  What  is  to 
be  their  destination  ? I cannot  yet  say 
with  certainty,  but  nothing  is  more 
probable  than  that  they  will  ultimately 
find  themselves  on  the  islands  of  S.  Thome 
and  Principe. 

Afterwards,  it  would  seem,  the  Vacho- 
kwe  sent  a raiding  party  to  plunder  on  the 
ordinary  caravan  route  between  Bihe  and 
Mexico  considerably  to  the  North  of 
Visese’ s route.  One  of  our  caravans 


RUM  AND  BASE  INJUSTICE 


95 


going  to  Kavungu  was  attacked  and  seven 
bales  of  cloth  and  two  loads  of  salt  were 
plundered.  It  is  said  that  the  Portuguese 
also  lost  some  loads.  Who  is  really  to 
blame  ? The  natives  have  a custom 
that,  if  a man  fail  to  protect  his  wife  and 
she  be  kiUed  or  stolen,  a certain  amount 
of  goods  be  paid  to  the  relatives  of  the 
killed  or  stolen  woman.  The  Vachokwe 
said  that,  seeing  the  whites  had 
stolen  so  many  of  their  women,  they 
would  take  the  white  man’s  goods  to  pay 
their  debts. 

Compare  this  with  what  I wrote  on 
29th  November  of  the  doings  of  Snr. 

, and  things  explain  themselves. 

The  natives  far  away  from  Visese’s  route 
are  made  to  suffer  for  plundering  done 
by  those  who  had  suffered  so  cruelly  at 
his  hands  ! Rumours  are  abroad  that  the 
Portuguese  are  preparing  to  send  a puni- 
tive expedition  into  the  country.  Of 
course,  now  that  there  is  the  shadow  of 
an  excuse,  it  would  be  a pity  not  to  make 


96 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


the  best  of  the  opportunity  to  secure  more 
slaves  and  to  convert  them  into  servi9aes 
for  the  islands  ! 

A white  man  whom  we  met  to  the  East 
of  the  Quanza  reported  that  Visese  had 
been  made  a prisoner  by  the  Chefe  of 
Bailundu,  but  we  could  hear  nothing  of 
this  on  our  arrival  in  Bihe.  If  anyone 
would  be  likely  to  take  hold  of  him  it 
would  be  that  Chefe,  for,  I understand, 
he  has  expressed  himself  as  being  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  slave  trade. 

At  the  Quanza  River,  evidently  where 
Mr.  Nevinson  crossed,  or  at  least  the 
crossing  he  speaks  about  as  being  “ a 
comfortable  distance  up-stream,  well  out 
of  observation,”  the  boats  have  been 
taken  from  the  natives,  either  to  prevent 
slaves  from  entering  Bihe  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  authorities,  or  to  inter- 
cept the  many  runaway  slaves  from 
crossing  and  getting  back  again  to  the 
interior.  Very  probably  the  latter. 


-a  'O 


i ,.i;  ■ - ' . 


RECAPTURE  OF  SLA VES 


97 


Recapture  of  Liberated  Slaves 

4th. — The  following  is  of  special  interest 
to  me,  as,  in  November,  1902,  the  people 
in  question  brought  to  me  the  letters  they 
had  received  from  Belmonte  Fort  during 
the  all-too-brief  stay  of  Capt.  Amorim,  who 
liberated  many  slaves.  On  November 
10th,  1902,  I made  the  following  brief 

note: — “ Snr. ’s  slaves  came  in 

with  their  letters  from  the  Fort  declaring 
that  they  were  free  to  leave  their  master 
and  to  go  and  build  in  the  Ondulu 
country.”  The  following  is  a copy  of 
one  of  these  letters  which  I saw  again  to- 
day 

(Stamp).  “ Concelho  do  Bihe. 

‘ ‘ Apresentou-se  na  sede  d’este  concelho 
‘ ‘ o indigina  A.  N’g.  que  declarou  ir 
‘ ‘ residir  para  Chitonho  no  N’Dulo,  onde 
‘ ‘ vae  fazer  uma  libata. 

‘ ‘ Bihe,  9 de  Novembro  de  1902. 


“ (Signed) 


98 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Translation. — “ The  native,  A.  N’g., 
‘ ‘ presented  himself  at  the  centre  of  this 
‘ ‘ ‘ concelho  ’ and  declared  that  he 
‘ ‘ was  going  to  reside  at  Chitonho,  in 
“ Ondulu,  where  he  was  going  to  build 
‘ ‘ a village.  ’ ’ 

Of  course  this  is  a very  carefully  worded 
“letter  of  freedom,”  for  it  only  gives 
him  liberty  to  build  a village  of  his  own, 
but  this  implies  freedom,  as  a slave  or 
servi9al  never  receives  such  liberty. 

A.  N’g.  was  the  principal  slave  of  Snr. 

, and  I met  him  again  to-day  at 

Oc.,  and  he  recounted  his  experiences  since 
I last  saw  him  as  follows  : — 

After  receiving  their  ‘ ‘ letters  of  free- 
dom,” Snr. called  A.  N’g.  to  the 

Fort  again  and  threatened  to  put  him  in 
prison.  (This  was  after  Capt.  Amorim  had 
been  recalled.)  A.  N’g.  showed  his  letter, 

and  Snr. said,  ‘ ‘ All  right,  but  you 

must  stay  and  work  for  me.”  He  re- 
ceived fair  treatment  and  good  pay. 
While  working  at  the  Fort,  Snr. , 


RECAPTURE  OF  SLAVES 


99 


his  old  master,  who  had  been  on  a journey 
to  the  coast,  returned,  and  he  advised 

Snr.  to  send  A.  N’g.  away  as  a 

soldier  to  some  other  part.*  Snr. , 

however,  allowed  him  and  the  others  to 
go  and  build  in  accordance  with  the  terms 
of  their  ‘ ‘ letters.  ’ ’ There  were  at  that 
time  eighteen  men,  twenty  women,  and 
nine  children.  A white  trader,  Snr* 

, asked  A.  N’g.  and  others  to 

accompany  him  as  carriers  to  the  East 
of  the  Quanza  River  (Luchazi  country). 
They  consented,  and  left  their  wives  and 
children  and  a few  men  in  their  village. 
When  ready  to  return  A.  N’g.  sent  a 
couple  of  men  to  their  village  to  get  food 
for  the  return  journey.  In  the  meantime 
their  village  had  been  plundered  and  its 
inmates  taken  again  as  slaves  to  Snr. 

* I am  convinced  that  this  was  because  his  master  wanted 
to  get  him  out  of  the  country  owing  to  his  being  a 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  and  he,  once 
out  of  the  way,  there  would  be  a much  better  chance 
of  getting  the  liberated  slaves  back  into  captivity 
again  ! 


lOO 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


, in  charge  of  Snr. ’s  trading 

station.  (Snr. was  then  on  a visit 

to  Europe.)  The  men  sent  by  A.  N’g. 
called  at  the  native  chief’s  in  passing,  and 
he  asked  them  to  sleep  there  that  night 
and  to  go  on  the  next  morning.  The 
chief  had  been  instructed  by  the  whites 
to  tie  up  all  these  men  on  their  return, 
but  one  of  the  young  men  of  the  village 
warned  them  of  his  intention,  so  they 
cleared  out  at  once.  Judge  what  must 
have  been  their  surprise  and  sorrow  on 
arriving  at  their  village  to  find  it  in  ruins 
and  their  wives  and  children  gone ! 
They  sent  a messenger  to  A.  N’g.  to 
acquaint  him  with  his  and  their  misfor- 
tune, while  they  proceeded  to  Snr. 

’s  establishment  to  see  what  had 

become  of  their  wives  and  children.  The 
reply  of  the  whites  was,  ‘ ‘ This  is  our 
country,  and  slaves  cannot  be  allowed  to 
build  a village,  so  you  also  must  stay 
here  ! ’ ’ They  protested  that  they  had 
received  ‘ ‘ letters  of  freedom  ’ ’ with 


RECAPTURE  OF  SLA VES 


lOI 


liberty  to  build,  but  these  were  soon  taken 
from  them  and  disposed  of.*  The  men 

in  question  were  sent  by  Snr. 

in  the  direction  of  Caconda  to  be  sold, 
and  this  was  the  last  that  was  heard 
of  them,  their  wives  or  their  children  ! 
When  A.  N’g.  and  those  with  him  heard 
of  what  had  befallen  all  the  inmates  of 
their  village,  they  got  leave  from  Snr. 
to  return  at  once.  A.  N’g.,  be- 
sides the  wife  he  had  when  a slave, 
and  who  was  taken  by  the  whites,  had 
married  a free  woman,  so  he  went  to 
her  village  and  got  her.  These  two  with 
N.  went  to  O.,  where  they  settled. 
Sophia,  N.’s  wife,  had  been  caught  and 

* Tt  will  be  seen  from  this  that  the  traders  have  very  little 
fear  of  the  authorities,  and  anything  done  by  a Chefe 
may  be  simply  ignored  as  soon  as  he  leaves  the  country. 
Seeing  the  Chefes  are  so  frequently  changed,  and  no 
two  follow  the  same  course  of  dealing  with  the  natives, 
there  is  practically  no  permanent  regime  and  the 
natives  are  never  sure  how  they  stand  in  relation  to 
the  authorities.  The  traders  imderstand  this  better 
than  anybody,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  make  the  best 
of  it,  with  the  result  that  the  black  is  almost  in- 
variably worsted. 


102 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


taken  to  the  whites  at  the  same  time  as 
her  fellows,  but  she  managed  to  escape, 
and  lived  for  a while  near  the  Quanza 
River,  when  N.,  hearing  she  was  there, 
went  and  brought  her  to  O.  (She  and 
A.  N’g.  are  shown  in  the  photo. ; N.  was 
on  a journey  when  I took  it.)  These 
three  were  not  allowed  to  rest  for  long. 

A native,  named  S.,  went  to  the  whites  , 
and  reported  where  the  three  were  living. 
He  received  a keg  of  rum  to  take  to  the 
chief  of  the  district  (Ovindele),  with  the 
request  that  he  would  tie  them  up.  The 
chief,  knowing  about  the  ‘ ‘ letters  of 
freedom,”  refused.  S.  and  others  took 
the  matter  into  their  own  hands  and 
caught  them.  A.  N’g.  told  his  free  wife 
to  run  and  tell  one  of  my  friends,  and  his 
‘ ‘ boys  ’ ’ went  and  rescued  them.  The 
three  then  moved  much  nearer  to  my 
friend’s  house,  and  have  not  been  molested 
since,  but  they  may  be  caught  at  any 
time  should  they  move  about  too  freely. 


CHILD  FOR  Is.  4d. 


103 


Child  for  Is.  4d. 

February,  1909. 

Ekupa,  I also  met  at  0.,  and  he  told  me 
that  he  bought  a boy  when  a baby  in  the 
Luba  country  for  four  yards  of  cloth,  and 
brought  him  out  to  Bihe  (four  yards  of 
cloth  is  equal  to  about  Is.  4d.).  The 
story  is  that  while  the  child’s  mother  had 
gone  to  her  field,  their  village  was 
plundered  by  their  enemies,  who  stole 
the  child  and  sold  him  to  Ekupa. 

Disgusting  Treatment  of  a Woman 

Nanjila  I met  on  February  4th,  and 
heard  her  case  from  her  own  lips,  though 
my  friends  had  already  related  it  to  me. 
She  is  an  Ochimbundu  and  the  niece  of 
a native  chief,  Muenecalo,  of  Okaliweke 
(Ondulu).  She  was  charged  by  her  broth- 
er with  having  caused  the  death  of  her 
own  mother.  For  about  a year  she  was 
kept  in  a small  hut  in  the  woods.  Her 
uncle  then  died,  and  she  was  charged 


104 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


with  his  death  also.  They  brought  her 
and  bound  her  under  the  deeomposing 
body  for  a whole  day,  where  the  liquid 
running  from  it  would  fall  on  her  faee. 

Ukuahamba  compelled  her  to  open  her 
mouth  and  swallow  some  of  the  hquid 
and  she,  to  prove  her  innocence,  did  not 
refuse  to  do  so.*  The  same  day  a 
man  of  the  village  bought  and  drank 
so  much  rum  that  he  died  in  the  even- 
ing, and  again  Nanjila  was  charged  with 
causing  the  death.  The  body  of  this 
man  was  placed  at  her  side,  and  she 
lay  bound  and  locked  in  the  house  in  this 
revolting  contact  with  the  two  bodies  the 
whole  of  that  night.  In  the  morning  she 
and  her  son  (simply  because  he  was  the 
son  of  a supposed  witch)  were  taken  away, 
bound,  a long  three  days’  journey  to 
Bimbi  and  deposited  in  the  house  of  a 
white  trader  with  the  intention  of  selling 


* The  native  idea  is  that  anyone  really  guilty  would  die  at 
once  as  the  result.  It  is  to  us  a mystery  that  even  an 
innocent  person  can  survive ! 


DISGUSTING  TREATMENT  105 

them.  Mr. hearing  of  the  case, 

and  feeling  deeply  for  the  poor  woman, 
went  to  the  village  where  the  miserable 
drama  was  being  enacted  and  demanded 
her  from  her  brother  Siakatu — the  man 
who  had  accused  her  of  causing  the  three 
deaths.  (He  had  become  chief  of  the 
village  on  the  death  of  his  uncle.)  Sia- 
katu said  she  had  fled,  but  Mr. did 

not  believe  this  and  threatened  to  take 
him  to  the  Fort  if  she  were  not  delivered 
to  him.  He  immediately  sent  messengers 
to  Bimbi  to  bring  the  woman  and  her  son 
back.  On  the  arrival  of  the  messengers 
at  Bimbi  they  found  the  son  had  already 
been  sold  and  was  then  in  chains  (a  free- 
will servi§al  ?)  ; but  the  mother  being 
old  was  not  yet  bargained  for.  The 
messengers  wished  to  return  the  price  of 
the  son  that  he  also  might  accompany 
them  back  to  Bihe,  but  the  trader  said 
the  only  way  to  ‘ ‘ redeem  ’ ’ him  would 
be  by  “ another  person.  ’ ’ Eventually  a 
boy  was  taken  to  the  white  but  most  of 


io6  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 

the  goods  had  to  be  returned  as  well 
before  he  would  let  the  son  go  free. 

All  Escape  from  Slavery 

6th. — Sepumuma,  a Bihean — told  me  the 

following  to-day  (Mr. had  spoken 

to  me  about  it,  but  I wanted  to  hear  it 
direct).  S.  went  to  the  coast  as  a carrier 

for  Snr. , of  C.,  West  of  the  Kutatu 

River.  When  he  came  back  Snr. 

seized  him,  dragged  him  into  his  house, 
and  put  a chain  on  his  neck.  When 
asked  why  he  was  thus  treated  Snr. 

said  that  during  his  absence  he 

had  bought  him  from  Sanjila,  his  native 
master.  The  price  paid  was  one  keg  of 
rum,  and  cloth.  Sepumuma’ s father  went 

to  Snr. , accompanied  by  a man 

named  Ehoma,  taking  a goat  as  a present, 
and  requesting  that  S.  be  not  sold  or  sent 
to  the  coast  as  he  (the  father)  wished  to 
redeem  him.  S.  was  there  eight  days 
and  then,  seeing  a chance  to  escape, 
he  fled,  swam  the  Kutatu  River,  and 


ALL  ESCAPE  FROM  SLAVERY  107 


reached  Mr. . The  trader  sent 

after  him,  but  Mr. — refused  to 

give  him  up  as  the  messenger  brought 
no  ‘ ‘ contract  ’ ’ papers.  Fearing  lest  a 
contract  might  be  taken  out  in  the  mean- 
time (for  it  is  not  necessary  to  take  a 
servi9al  to  the  Fort  in  order  to  get  a 
contract  for  him),  and  dated  earlier  than 

the  date  he  went  to  Mr. , thus 

making  the  latter  liable  to  a heavy  fine 
for  sheltering  a “ contracted  ” person,  Mr. 

wrote  to  both  the  Bailundu  and 

Bihe  Forts  telling  of  the  case.  The 
trader,  seeing  he  could  not  get  possession 
of  Sepumuma,  sent  and  caught  Ehoma, 
who  had  accompanied  the  father,  and  put 
him  in  chains  ! Ehoma  gave  an  interior 
native  to  the  trader  to  get  free.  Ehoma, 
though  a slave  himself,  possessed  a slave. 
(It  is  not  at  all  uncommon  among  the 
Ovimbundu  for  slaves  to  own  slaves.) 
For  some  reason  Ehoma’s  master  turned 
against  him  and  offered  to  sell  him  to 
the  same  trader,  and  received  rum  and 


io8  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 

cloth  in  payment.  The  trader,  evidently 
heard  from  the  Chefe  of  Bailundu,  for 
he  liberated  Ehoma  and  sent  him  back 
to  his  village,  telling  him  to  bring  back 
the  goods  which  had  been  given  to  his 
master.  Ehoma,  unable  to  get  the  goods, 
probably  because  the  rum  had  been 
quickly  disposed  of,  took  two  children — 
a boy  and  a girl — but  the  trader  refused 
them  and  asked  for  two  loads  of  rubber. 
Ehoma  sold  the  children  to  another 
native  for  fifty  kilos  of  rubber,  which 
he  carried  to  the  trader.  He  was  told 
it  was  not  enough,  and  he  must  bring 
ten  kilos  more. 

Ehoma,  because  of  what  the  case  has 
cost  him,  now  seems  determined  to  get 
hold  of  Sepumuma  and  his  brother.  They 
are,  however,  safe  as  long  as  they  are 
with  Mr.  . 

It  can  easily  be  seen  that,  had  it  not 

been  for  Mr. , the  trader  would 

have  had  it  all  his  own  way.  No  doubt 
his  having  heard  from  the  Fort  led  him 


ALL  ESCAPE  FROM  SLAVERY  109 


to  refuse  the  boy  and  girl,  but  he  did  not 
lose,  for  he  got  the  two  loads  of  rubber, 
and  may  at  any  time  tie  up  Ehoma  for 
the  ten  kilos  still  demanded,  while  Sepu- 
muma  and  his  brother  will  be  continually 
harassed  with  the  thought  that  Ehoma  is 
on  the  look-out  for  them. 

Difficult  to  Protect  Falsely-Contracted 
Slaves 

Although  all  servi9aes  are  supposed 
to  contract  themselves  of  their  own  free 
choice  (I  have  already  intimated  that 
“ contracts  ” can  be  obtained  at  the 
Forts  without  the  persons  to  be  con- 
tracted appearing,  at  least  so  the  Chefe 
of  Belmonte,  Bihe,  told  a friend  of  mine), 
it  is  difficult  and  risky  to  attempt  to  help 
those  who  may  have  been  contracted 
under  false  pretences.”  And  where  are  the 
servi9aes  who  have  not  been  contracted 
under  “ false  pretences  ” ? I never  knew 
one,  and  no  white  in  these  parts,  except 
the  traders  and  officials,  ever  knew  one. 


110 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


Foreign  residents  are,  therefore,  often 
sick  at  heart  because  they  are  compelled 
to  turn  a deaf  ear  to  the  appeals  for  help 
from  young  and  old  who  have  been 
bought,  stolen,  or  obtained  through  in- 
timidating their  friends  in  some  way,  and 
then  “contracted.”  Sometimes,  I might 
almost  say  frequently,  the  ‘ ‘ contracts  ’ ’ 
are  not  taken  out  till  the  slave  runs  away, 
and  then  they  are  obtained  to  use  as 
levers  to  get  him  back  should  he  have 
fled  to  any  white  other  than  a Portuguese. 
As  long  as  contracts  can  be  obtained 
without  the  natives  appearing  in  person 
to  express  their  willingness,  or  unwilling- 
ness, to  be  contracted,  this  abuse  is  sure 
to  continue.  How  easy  under  such  a 
system  to  go  on  recontracting  a native 
till  the  day  of  his  death  ! 

A Boy-Slavc’s  Troubles 

Very  recently  a friend  of  mine  was 
telling  me  that,  not  long  ago,  a young 
boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years  ran  away 


A BOY-SLAVE'S  TROUBLES 


III 


from  his  white  master  and  came  to  him 
asking  for  protection.  My  friend  was 
compelled  to  deny  him  shelter,  in  spite 
nf  his  youth,*  lest  he  should  make  himself 
liable  to  the  heavy  fine  the  law  imposes 
on  those  who  protect  a ‘ ‘ contracted  ’ ’ 
person.  The  little  fellow,  at  his  wit’s  end 
to  know  what  to  do,  adopted  the  doubtful 
expedient  of  entering  a native  village 
rather  than  starve  in  the  bush.  A man 
heartlessly  laid  hold  on  him  and  took 
him  back  to  his  master  from  whose  cruelty 
he  had  fled.  No  doubt  the  man  was 
suitably  rewarded  with  rum,  &c.,  while 
the  little  chap  was  so  terribly  beaten  that 
he  was  unconscious  during  a whole  day.f 

* If  contracted  at  all,  his  age  must  have  been  given  as  con- 
siderably in  advance  of  what  it  was,  which  would  be 
very  easy  in  the  light  of  what  I have  just  written. 

t Some  may  question  this,  but  I do  not,  for  I have  seen  too 
many  cases  of  the  kind.  I once  saw  a young  lad  of 
about  the  same  age  standing  at  the  door  of  a trader 
with  his  hands  swollen  like  balls  and  the  blood  dripping 
freely  from  the  tips  of  his  fingers  as  the  result  of 
the  free  application  of  the  “ palmatoria.”  His 
sufferings  seemed  to  be  too  great  for  tears.  In  reply 
to  my  question  he  said  it  was  because  one  of  the  little 
goats  of  the  flock  he  was  herding  had  run  away  and  he 
was  unable  to  catch  it ! 


112 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


His  inhuman  master  then  sold  him  to 
another  white,  but  the  child,  fearing 
he  would  receive  no  better  treatment 
from  this  new  dealer  in  human  beings, 
again  fled  to  my  friend.  (This  was 
about  April,  1908).  My  friend  was 
away,  and  his  wife,  a lady  of  deeply 
sympathetic  feeling,  dared  not  give  him 
shelter.  In  his  sorrowful  loneliness  he 
wandered  away  and  no  one  knows  what 
became  of  him  ! Who  will  attempt  to 
describe  the  feelings  of  that  lone  child 
when  he  was  turned  away  from  what 
was  the  only  ‘ ‘ door  of  hope  ’ ’ in  the 
country  ? Shall  not  his  very  silent  grief 
appeal  to  us,  who  live  in  such  comfort 
and  abundance,  more  than  any  words 
ever  could  ? And  shall  we  not  determine 
never  to  rest  till  foreign  residents  in 
these  regions  shall  be  in  a position 
to  compel  the  Portuguese  to  keep  their 
own  laws  ? 


Ndiana,  slave  girl,  who  was  frequently  hung  up  by  feet 
and  whipped  (p.  135) 

Boy  slave  redeemed  by  an  Englishman  for  £i  (p.  138) 
Slave  boy  and  disfigured  father  who  fell  into  the  fire  (p.  133) 


RETAINING  FREEDOM 


”3 


Woman  and  Child  for  Two  Small  Bags 
of  Corn 

Musole  is  a pleasant  looking  native 
woman  from  the  Luchasi.  She  and 
four  others  became  slaves,  according  to 
one  of  the  many  strange  native  laws  or 
customs,  through  the  death  of  a relative. 
She  and  her  child  were  sold  to  a white 
trader  for  two  small  bags  of  corn  during 
a time  of  famine  ! The  brother  went  to 
the  representative  of  the  Portuguese 
authority  at  the  nearest  Fort,  and,  to 
his  credit  be  it  recorded,  he  set  her  free. 
How  pleasant  it  is  to  be  able  to  write 
of  an  act  of  justice  in  the  midst  of  so  much 
that  is  a standing  disgrace  to  any  civilized 
nation  ! 

Difficulty  of  Retaining  Freedom  even  when 
Granted  by  Government 

I will  now  mention  another  case  which 
shows  how  difficult  it  is  for  even  liberated 
slaves  to  retain  their  liberty.  The  people 


H 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


114 


told  me  their  own  story,  for  the  latter 

part  of  which  my  friend,  Mr.  , can 

vouch.  They  were  caught  in  Lubaland 
by  the  rebel  soldiers  of  the  Congo  Free 
State  and  sold  to  Ovimbundu  who  brought 
them  out  and  sold  them  to  Sekeseke  of 
Catumbella.  (They  said  Sekeseke’s  name 

was  P B .)  For  some  years 

they  had  the  usual  experiences  of 
‘ ‘ Chicote,’  ’ kicks  and  monotonous  labour. 
One  of  them,  Lumingo,  was  accused  of 
stealing  rubber.  The  ‘ ‘ Chicote  ” (or 
Sjambok)  was  brought  into  requisition, 
and  the  poor  miserable  creature  was 
flogged  for  four  days  in  succession,  and 
several  times  a day,  till  his  body  was  like 
a pulp  ! At  the  end  of  the  fourth  day 
the  spirit  took  its  flight,  the  sufferings 
were  over  and  the  sufferer  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  Sjamboks,  kicks  and  curses 
of  those  who  ‘ ‘ redeem  ’ ’ the  natives 
“ out  of  pity  ” for  them.  The  other 
slaves  buried  him  at  the  dead  of  night  in 
a comer  of  the  garden.  Three  days 


RETAINING  FREEDOM 


”5 


afterwards,  the  rest  of  the  slaves,  fearing 
that  something  of  the  kind  might  befall 
them  any  day,  and  with  the  faint  hope 
of  getting  justice,  fled  to  the  Fort,  and 
told  what  had  happened.  The  Chefe 
went  with  soldiers  to  Sekeseke’s  and 
verified  the  statements  of  the  natives. 
To  the  honour  of  this  Chefe,  whoever  he 
may  have  been,  I heard  that  he  set  the 
thirty  slaves  free,  who  had  applied  to 
him,  and  gave  them  ‘ ‘ guias  ’ ’ to  return 
to  their  homes  in  the  interior.  I suppose 
this  was  considered  a very  severe  punish- 
ment for  Sekeseke,  seeing  he  had  only 
with  slow  torture  murdered  a slave ! 
A number  of  the  slaves  went  up  country 
as  far  as  the  Bailombo  River,  and  showed 
their  ‘ ‘ guias  ’ ’ to  the  officer  in  charge 
at  the  Fort.  They  then  settled  in  a 
native  village  near  by  for,  perhaps,  two 
years.  The  Chefe  (or  officer)  afterwards 
called  them  and  ordered  them  all  to 
settle  at  the  Fort,  and,  as  they  objected 
to  do  so,  natives  were  sent  to  plunder 


ii6  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 

their  village  and  to  make  them  prisoners. 
After  a very  unequal  fight,  they  were 
caught  and  taken  to  the  Fort.  The 
Chefe  again  repeated  his  wish  that  they 
build  at  the  Fort,  but  they  objected 
again  on  the  score  that  they  had  been 
set  free  by  a higher  authority  at  the 
coast  and  they  had  seen  too  much 
suffering  already  at  the  hands  of  the 
whites  to  want  anything  more  to  do  with 
them.  They  contrived  by  some  means 
to  get  away,  and  made  for  Bihe,  where 
they  settled  not  far  from  the  residence 

of  Mr. . Several  months  later  a 

mulatto,  Kasala,  of  Buanga  (two  hours 

from  the  residence  of  Mr. ),  who 

is  employed  by  the  traders  to  catch  run- 
away slaves,  passed  through  their  village. 
He  saw  at  a glance  that  they  were  ex- 
slaves, and  told  the  native  chief  that, 
seeing  they  were  “ runaways,”  he  would 
come  and  catch  them  in  the  night.  The 

chief  went  and  told  Mr.  of  the 

intention  of  the  mulatto.  Mr. 


RETAINING  FREEDOM 


117 


warned  the  mulatto  not  to  attempt  to 
touch  them,  for  they  all  had  their  ‘ ‘ guias,” 
and,  lest  he  should  be  bold  to  make  the 
attempt,  they  were  advised  to  move 

nearer  to  Mr. ’s  house.  As  they 

behaved  themselves,  and  proved  to  be 
industrious,  they  were  allowed  to  build 
their  huts  near  in  the  hope  that  some 

day  Mr.  might  be  able  to  send 

them  back  to  their  own  country.  One 

Sunday,  in  May  of  last  year,  a Snr. 

visited  Mr.  — , and  was  kindly 

received.  He  saw  the  people  who  had 
come  back  from  the  coast  living  near, 
and  his  black  concubine  recognised  them 

as  ex-slaves.  She  informed  Snr.  , 

who  evidently  made  up  his  mind  to  try 
and  get  them  into  his  possession  as  it 
would  be  a very  cheap  way  of  obtaining 
serviQaes.  The  same  day,  about  an  hour 
later,  he  tried  to  bribe  a man  to  help  him 
to  get  hold  of  them,  but  the  man  refused, 

as  they  were  under  the  care  of  Mr. . 

One  evening,  three  weeks  afterwards,  a 


ii8 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


native  went  and  told  Mr. that 

Snr. intended  to  go  with  a gang 

of  twenty  or  thirty  men  and  catch  them 
all.  The  gang  had  received  a liberal 
supply  of  rum  to  induce  them  to  accom- 
pany him.  Mr. sent  and  brought 

the  ex-slaves  to  a place  of  safety  and 
placed  some  of  his  own  men  in  the  village 
to  watch  and  to  sound  an  alarm  on  horns 

should  Snr. and  his  men  appear. 

Sure  enough,  about  two  a.m.  the  horns 

were  heard.  Mr. and  some  others 

ran  across  and  found  one  of  his  o’wn  men 
in  ropes.  The  natives  who  accompanied 

Snr. fled,  with  the  exception  of 

two,  when  they  discovered  that  the  ex- 

sla-ves  were  under  Mr. ’s  protection. 

Snr. had  threatened  to  shoot  Mr. 

-’s  men,  but  they  at  once  seized  and 

disarmed  him.  Snr. was  very 

profuse  in  his  apologies,  and  pretended 
not  to  know  that  those  he  was  trying  to 
catch  had  any  connection  with  Mr. 
, and  he  was  allowed  to  go  free  ! 


RETAINING  FREEDOM 


119 

The  following  day  Snr. wrote 

saying  that  unless  Mr. showed 

him  the  ‘ ‘ guias  ’ ’ of  the  servi9aes  he 
would  accuse  him  at  the  Fort  of  harbour- 
ing runaways.  Mr. replied  that 

if  he  did  not  hold  his  peace  all  particulars 
would  be  written  to  the  Chefe.  The 

natives  say  that  this  Snr. is  the 

murderer  of,  at  least,  eight  natives,  and 
had  recently  returned  from  the  coast 
where  he  had  been  in  prison.  Being 
in  poor  circumstances,  no  doubt  he 
thought  that  to  get  hold  of  this  group  of 
natives  would  be  an  easy  way  of  getting 
a start  in  business  again. 

A Child  for  a Waterproof  Coat! 

Dilunga  is  also  a native  of  the  Luba 
country.  Sahombo  bought  her  and 
brought  her  out.  Sachipeta,  Sahombo’s 
uncle,  took  her  and  her  child  to  Snr. 

. (This  man  I knew  very  well 

years  ago.)  Sachipeta  did  this  because 
Snr.  had  undertaken  ‘ ‘ to  eat  a 


120 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


crime  ’ ’ with  him,  on  behalf  of  a native 

named  Sakopika.  Snr. took  the 

child  from  its  mother  and  sent  it  to 
another  white,  Chilingo  (native  name), 
of  Kangenjo,  to  buy  a waterproof  coat ! 
Chilingo  said  the  child  was  too  small. 

When  it  was  brought  back  to  Snr. 

he  punished  it  with  the  ‘ ‘ palmatoria  ! ’ ’ 
(Was  it  because  the  child  was  too  small 
or  what  ?)  The  mother  interfered  on 
behalf  of  her  child,  and  she  also  was 
punished  for  thus  manifesting  maternal 
affection ! Seeing  a chance  to  escape,  the 
mother  fled  with  her  child  to  0.,  where 
was  a native  Christian  with  whom  she  was 

acquainted.  Snr.  then  caught 

Sachipeta  and  told  him  that,  seeing 
Dilunga  had  fled,  he  must  go  with  some 
of  his  (the  trader’s)  servants  and  catch 
two  young  people  at  Sahombo’s  and  bring 
them  to  take  the  place  of  Dilunga  and 
her  child.  Sahombo’s  people  all  fled, 
(I  passed  through  their  deserted  village), 
so  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  get 


CHILD  FOR  WATERPROOF  COAT  121 


hold  of  Dilunga  and  her  child  again.  She, 
however,  fled  to  the  house  of  another 
native  Christian,  and  he  brought  her  to 
me  the  morning  I was  leaving  Bihe.  I, 
of  course,  could  only  ask  her  to  appeal  to 
some  one  who  was  resident  in  the  country. 
Sachipeta  was  still  a prisoner. 

Take  the  following  as  illustrating  the 
awful  and  unjust  cupidity  of  the  white 
and  the  abject  terror  of  the  natives  which 
leads  them  to  suffer  almost  anything  rather 
than  appeal  to  the  authorities,  lest  such 
a step  should  bring  them  further  suffer- 
ing, especially  in  the  case  of  an  uneducated 
native  against  a white. 

17  Slaves,  2 Oxen,  1 Pig,  and  3 Loads  of 
Rubber  for  1 Woman 

Within  a stone’s  throw  of  Mr. — ’s 

house  lived  a trader,  Snr. . He 

bought  a slave-woman  who,  no  doubt 
because  of  ill-treatment,  ran  away  to 
Oka.  Oh,  the  untold  sufferings  and  dis- 
gusting humiliations  to  which  the  poor 


122 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


women  are  subject  in  this  land  of  sorrow ! 

Snr. followed  her,  and  not  only  took 

possession  of  her  again,  but  made  the 
inmates  of  the  village  pay  ten  slaves  and 
ten  ‘ ‘ ipako  ” (an  “ ipako  ’ ’ may  be 
anything  in  the  way  of  pigs,  goats,  rubber, 
or  even  slaves  are  sometimes  included). 

Snr. next  sent  her  to  the  coast  to 

be  sold,  though  she  did  not  know  his 
object.  (It  is  safer  to  send  such  people 
to  S.  Thome  as  ‘ ‘ willingly  contracted 
servi9aes  ’ ’ than  to  run  the  risk  of  losing 
them).  A native  named  K.  undertook  to 
take  her,  but  hearing  that  they  were 
planning  to  sell  her  and,  with  the  gloomy 
prospect  of  hopeless  years  of  monotonous 
service  in  the  islands  looming  in  the 
distance,  she  determined  to  make  another 
desperate  attempt  to  escape.  The  op- 
portunity occurred  when  they  arrived  in 
Bailundu,  and  she  disappeared.  The 
native  K.  had  to  pay  a young  woman,  a 

pig,  and  a load  of  rubber  to  Snr. . 

Presently  it  was  heard  that  the  runaway 


17  SLAVES  FOR  1 WOMAN 


123 


had  been  in  the  village  of  Lak,  and  he 
had  to  pay  two  slaves  (small  children), 
two  oxen,  and  two  loads  of  rubber.  The 
villagers,  with  whom  she  was  eventually 
found,  were  ordered  to  pay  ten  slaves. 
Though  foreigners  hate  to  interfere  in 
such  cases  they  sometimes  feel  compelled 

to  do  so,  and  Mr. felt  so  indignant 

that  he  went  to  the  Fort,  accompanied  by 
witnesses  who  substantiated  what  is  here 
recorded.  The  Capitao  Mor  said  that  as 
the  first  case  had  occurred  during  the 
term  of  a previous  Capitao,  he  did  not  care 

to  take  it  up,  but  he  ordered  Snr. 

to  return  the  two  children,  two  oxen,  and 
two  loads  of  rubber,  and  said  that  the 
villagers  with  whom  the  woman  was 

found  need  pay  nothing.  Snr. 

did  not  return  the  children,  &c.,  and 
still  demanded  the  ten  slaves,  saying  that 
if  they  did  not  pay,  he  would  wait  till 

Mr. and  the  then  present  Capitao 

Mor  had  left  the  country,  when  he  would 
plunder  their  village  and  carry  them  all 


124 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


off  to  Loanda.  From  inquiries  which 

Mr. subsequently  made  he  thinks 

Snr. managed  to  get  four  of  the 

ten  slaves  he  demanded. 

Sold  by  His  Own  Father 

The  same  Mr. — , who  related  to 

me  the  foregoing,  told  me  that  a native, 
who  had  been  working  for  him  for  some 
time,  came  to  him  one  day  and  said  his 

brother  had  been  sold  to  Snr. ; 

inquiries  were  made,  and  it  was  found  he 
had  been  sold  by  his  own  father  for  a keg 
of  rum  ! This  dreadful  ‘ ‘ fire  water  ’ ’ 
has  dragged  the  natives  down  nearly  as 
low  as  the  whites,  but  the  whites  find 
degraded  natives  play  into  their  hands 
much  better  than  others  ! This  is  the 
real  reason  why  the  Portuguese  pleaded 
that  the  sale  of  alcohol  to  the  natives  might 
not  be  forbidden,  for  it  would  ruin  their 
trade,  and  it  was  internationally  agreed 
that  the  sale  (and  the  ruin  of  the  natives,  of 
course)  might  continue  for  ten  years  longer ! 


POWDER  FOR  SLAVES 


125 


Powder  for  Slaves 

Mr. , in  journeying  up  country 

in  November,  camped  with  a native  in 
the  Chisanje  country  who  had  taken  down 
and  sold  nine  slaves  in  Catumbella. 
The  man  received  in  exchange  for  each 

slave  a large  bag  of  powder.  Mr. 

saw  one  of  the  bags,  and  judged  the 
weight  to  be  at  least  eighty-five  pounds. 
Does  not  this  give  the  lie  to  the  traders 
who  say  there  is  no  longer  any  buying 
and  selling  of  slaves  ? And  is  it  not  a 
crying  shame  that  the  natives  are  supplied 
with  such  large  quantities  of  powder  with 
which  they  can  so  readily  buy  and  plunder 
more  slaves  ? I understood  it  was  con- 
trary to  the  law  to  sell  powder  to  the 
natives,  and  for  this  reason  I,  and  my 
friends,  have  desisted  from  selling  even 
small  quantities  for  hunting  purposes. 
But  the  traders  seem  to  make  laws  for 
themselves,  at  least  they  only  obey  such 
as  please  them. 


126 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


S.,  a native  at  present  living  with  a 
friend  of  mine  in  Bihe,  states  that  he 

sold  a man  to  a trader,  Snr. , and 

received  the  following  in  payment  : — 
eighty  yards  of  cloth  ; keg  of  rum  ; gun- 
powder, hat,  shirt,  and  plate.  S.  has 
seen  the  folly  of  his  ways,  yet,  while  he 
is  somewhat  ashamed,  he  does  not  hesitate 
to  confess  this. 

Another  native  whom  I know  well,  and 
who  was  a carrier  in  my  caravan  to 
Moxico,  said,  he  bought  a girl  in  the  Luba 
country  for  whom  he  paid  sixteen  yards 
of  cloth  and  a gun  worth  other  sixteen 
yards.  He  brought  her  out  to  Bihe,  and 
subsequently  sent  her  to  Benguella  to  be 
sold.  He  received  in  return  240  yards 
of  cloth,  a blanket,  and  a gun.  Roughly 
speaking,  he  received  ten  times  as  much 
as  he  paid  for  her  ! Is  this  not  enough 
to  induce  even  the  best  of  the  natives  to 
commence  a business  that  pays  so  well  ? 
As  I have  often  said,  so  long  as  the  demand 
continues,  and  such  inducements  are 


POWDER  FOR  SLAVES 


127 


offered,  the  supply  will  continue  also. 
It  is  no  use  blaming  the  natives,  for  as 
soon  as  the  trade  ceased  to  pay,  they 
would  cease  to  run  the  risks  they  incur 
in  these  long  interior  journeys. 

Shameful  Cruelty  to  a Woman-Slave 

In  November  last,  a native  named 

Chawako  sold  a woman  to  Snr. , 

an  educated  mulatto  trader  who  has  a 

store  in  the  district  of , and  he 

received  cloth,  &c.,  in  payment.  One  of 
my  friends,  Mr. , at  once,  on  hear- 

ing of  the  case,  went  to  the  man’s  village 
and  charged  him  with  having  sold  the 
woman.  At  first  he  denied  it,  but  on 

being  told  that  Mr. could  produce 

witnesses,  he  confessed.  After  warning 
the  man  that  he  might  expect  to  hear 

more  about  the  case,  Mr. returned 

to  his  village.  The  trader,  probably 
having  heard  that  Mr. was  in- 

teresting himself  in  the  case,  called  the 
native  from  whom  he  had  bought  the 


128 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


woman  and  told  him  he  could  take  his 
woman  and  bring  back  the  cloth,  &c. 
Some  of  those  present  described  the 
revolting  treatment  to  which  the  poor 
woman  was  subjected  by  her  native 
master  for  no  other  crime  than  that  her 

sale  had  been  hindered  by  Mr. . 

She  was  stripped  and  exposed  in  a most 
shameful  manner  to  the  bystanders,  then 
a stick  was  actually  thrust  up  into  her 
inside  till  the  blood  flowed  profusely  ! 
Not  long  afterwards  the  woman  was 
carried  off  and  sold  to  a trader  in  the 
Ondulu  country. 

This  case  is  recorded  as  another  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  buying  and  selling 
still  goes  on,  and  to  remind  those  who  are 
not  too  callous  to  be  interested,  of  the 
suffering  of  the  poor  natives  under  the 
terrible  curse  of  slavery.  Surely  if  the 
men  of  Britain  do  not  arise,  and  say 
that  this  kind  of  thing  must  be  stopped, 
the  women  will ! 

A native,  well  known  to  me,  happened 


Baby  thrown  into  bush  by  runaway  slaves  (p.  33) 

Chitengi,  rescued  by  missionaries  (p.  140)  Adalia,  given  as  a pledge  to  a trader 

her  husband  (p.  139) 


CRUELTY  TO  A WOMAN 


129 


to  enter  the  village  of  Chawako  (the  native 
who  sold  the  poor  woman  just  mentioned), 
and  he  saw  a young  fellow  sewing  together 
some  very  nice  cloth.  He  asked  him 
where  he  had  got  it,  and  he  said  the 
chief’s  brother,  Chawako,  gave  it  him  ; 
it  being  part  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  a woman.  The  native  then  went 
direct  to  Chawako  and  asked  if  it  were 
true  that  he  had  sold  another  woman 
to  a trader  the  day  before.  He  confessed 
it  was  true,  adding  that  the  woman  was 
most  disobedient  to  him,  so  he  determined 
to  get  rid  of  her,  and  he  took  her  to  Snr. 

, of  0 , and  received  in  exchange 

one  keg  of  rum  and  five  pieces  of  cloth. 

Another  native,  living  with  Mr. , 

makes  the  following  statement  : — 

A Slave’s  Own  Story 

‘ ‘ I,  Kapenda,  am  an  Uluwunda,  and 
I was  captured  when  a boy  by  a raiding 
party  of  Vachibokwe.  My  captors  sold 
me  to  an  Ochimbundu  trader  named 


I 


130 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Kawindima,  of  Bihe.  I remained  the 
property  of  this  man  for,  perhaps,  ten 
years,  when  he  sold  me,  nearly  three 
years  ago,  to  a white  trader  of  Omesele, 
Ondulu  country.  (This  trader  is  known 
among  the  natives  by  the  name  of 
Ngonga.)  The  price  that  Ngonga  paid 
to  Kawindima  for  me  was  : one  keg  of 
rum,  one  hat,  a plate  and  a bottle  of  rum. 
For  thirteen  days  I was  kept  bound  in 
cords,  and  was  then  sent  with  two  other 
slaves,  a man  and  a woman,  to  Ndondo, 
in  charge  of  Ovimbundu.  The  name  of 
the  trader  who  received  me  at  Ndondo 
was  Tambe,  and  Ngonga  was  an  employee 
of  his.  I remained  there  one  month  and 
was  put  in  prison  for  having  attempted 
to  escape.  After  one  night  in  prison 
I was  handed  back  to  my  owner,  who 
transferred  me  to  another  of  their  houses 
at  Pungo  Andongo.  From  there  I was 
sent  with'^others  to  Lucalla  to  bring  up 
rum,  and  seeing  a caravan  of  Ovimbundu, 
I recognised  them^^as carriers,  and 


A SLA  VE’S  OWN  STORY 


131 


determined  to  make  another  dash  for 
liberty.  Allowing  the  caravan  time  to 
get  across  the  Quanza  River,  I fled  during 
the  night  and  reached  the  crossing  of 
the  Quanza  the  next  morning.  The  white 
in  charge  at  the  crossing  suspected  I was 
a runaway,  and  would  not  allow  me  to 
cross.  I insisted  that  I belonged  to  the 

caravan  of  , and  had  been  left 

behind  by  mistake.  After  some  con- 
siderable delay  the  white  man  decided 
to  accept  my  statement  and  allowed  me 
to  cross  in  his  boat.  I very  soon  caught 
up  with  the  caravan,  which  I accompanied 
as  far  as  Bihe.  I have  been  in  different 
places  doing  work  for  different  people 
since  that  time,  but  hearing  of  a plot  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  natives  to  sell  me 
again  to  the  whites,  I fled  to .” 

My  friend,  with  whom  this  man  was 
staying,  says  ‘ ‘ I may  add  that  having 
no  reason  to  doubt  this  story,  which  is 
a very  common  one,  I decided  to  allow 
the  poor  fellow  to  remain  here,  promising 


132 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


him  protection  so  far  as  I could  and  so 
long  as  he  conducted  himself  respectably.” 

This  will  show  again  how  difficult  it  is 
for  one  to  regain  his  freedom  when  once 
a slave,  and  how,  if  he  succeed,  ever 
afterwards  a kind  of  nightmare  hangs 
over  him,  lest  those  around  him  should 
sell  him  again. 

An  Unfortunate  Father  Redeems  His  Son 

A Dutch  trader,  Mr. , resident 

in  Catumbella  for  many  years,  and  very 
well  known  to  me,  did  not  try  to  keep 
it  secret  that  he  was  accustomed  to  buy 
slaves.  Many  times  I stayed  in  his  house. 
A friend  of  mine,  now  in  Bihe,  knew  a 
native  who  sold  him  two  slaves  for  a 

rifle.  Mr. promised  the  native 

more  cartridges  when  they  arrived  from 
Europe,  and  gave  him  a note  to  this  effect. 
My  friend  found  this  out  very  simply, 
for  the  native  came  to  him  asking  him 

to  write  Mr. for  the  said  cartridges. 

This  trader  died,  not  long  ago,  on  one  of 


Slaves  working-  in  fields  at  Bihe  (p  14-4) 
Slave  boy  and  his  price  by  his  side  (p.  138) 


FATHER  REDEEMS  HIS  SON  133 


the  Mission  Stations  in  the  interior. 
Soon  after  his  death  my  friend  visited 
the  station,  and  the  trader’s  widow  was 
selling  off  the  trade  goods  left  by  her 
husband.  She  had  seven  slaves,  and,  on 
18th  April,  1907,  she  sold  two  to  Snr. 

, of  Katavola.  He  also  offered  good 

prices  for  some  girls  she  had,  but  she 
needed  them  for  the  journey  to  the  coast. 
One  girl  she  expected  to  take  to  Holland 
with  her,  and  the  others  she  would  sell  in 
Benguella.  One  of  the  slaves,  a little 
boy  Njoaki,  is  shown  in  the  photo  by  the 
side  of  his  disfigured  father.  Some  years 
ago  the  father  fell  into  the  fire,  which 
resulted  in  this  disfigurement  and  the 
loss  of  his  sight.  After  this  a man  who 
had  some  claim  on  his  wife  took  her  and 
all  the  children  as  slaves.  This  boy, 
Njoaki,  was  sold  to  the  Dutch  trader  at 
the  coast,  and  while  at  the  Mission  Station 
a native  recognised  him  as  the  son  of  the 
unfortunate  man,  and  forthwith  informed 
him  of  the  fact.  The  man,  though  unable 


134 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


to  see,  immediately  recognised  his  son’s 
voice,  and,  borrowing  twenty-four  kilos  of 
rubber,  redeemed  him.  Imagine  the  shock 
as  well  as  the  joy  of  this  reconciliation 
after  each  had  given  up  the  other  as  lost ! 

On  1st  August,  1908,  Chisalukila,  whom 

Mr. has  known  for  many  years, 

sold  a young  man,  Kavangi,  to  Snr. 

, in  the  employ  of  Snr. . 

Early  last  year  a Christian  native  from 
Mesele  took  a load  of  rubber  from  Snr. 

— to  carry  to  the  coast.  The  rubber 

was  stolen  from  him,  and  on  his  return 

Snr. told  him  he  must  pay  a slave. 

Mr. , however,  wrote  a note  asking 

for  a statement  of  the  amount  that  was 
owing,  and  paid  it. 

Apart  from  this  intervention,  the  lad 
would  probably  have  become  a slave  for 
life  unless  he  had  been  able  to  provide 
a substitute. 

About  twelve  months  ago  a head  man 
of  Sachisuanji  sent  some  of  his  people  to 
the  coast  as  carriers  for  Snr. , of 


FATHER  REDEEMS  HIS  SON  135 


Chaliwewa,  in  payment  of  some  crime 

that  Snr. had  brought  against  him. 

The  natives,  on  reaching  the  house  of 

Snr. , found  they  had  to  conduct 

a gang  of  slaves  to  the  coast.  Some  of 
the  natives  were  Christians,  so  they  ex- 
plained that  they  could  not  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  slaves,  and  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  carry  rubber  instead.  This 
was  permitted,  but  to  each  of  the  other 
carriers  was  given  a slave,  with  instruc- 
tions not  to  foUow  the  main  path. 

Between  the  3rd  and  10th  of  January, 
1909,  Salamba  sold  his  slave  wife  to  Snr. 

, of  Sakuayela.  The  brother  of 

Salamba  is  a Christian,  and  in  speaking 
of  the  case  said  his  brother  had  sold  his 
own  flesh  and  blood,  as  the  woman  was 
pregnant  at  the  time. 

Hung  by  Feet  and  Whipped 

When  Mr. returned  to  Bihe,  in 

September,  1906,  after  a furlough  in 
England,  he  found  a girl,  Ndiana,  living 


136  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


on  the  station.  She  had  fled  from  a white 

man,  Snr. , of  Chissende.  On 

7th  April,  1907,  Snr. came  to  Mr. 

and  demanded  the  girl.  As  she 

had  been  a professing  Christian  for  some 

time,  Mr. refused  to  give  her  up, 

and  appealed  to  the  Chefe.  The  Chefe 
said  she  could  remain  (at  the  Fort)  till 
he  made  further  inquiries,  but  as  soon 

as  Mr.  left  she  was  handed  to 

Snr. . Ndiana  told  my  friend,  Mr. 

, that  she  and  others  had  been 

frequently  hung  by  the  feet  to  the  tie- 
beam  of  the  house,  absolutely  naked,  and 
whipped  with  the  ‘ ‘ chicote.  ’ ’ When 

Mr.  was  at  the  Fort  he  asked  the 

Chefe  if  slavery  was  legal  in  the  country, 
and  if  natives  could  be  contracted  against 
their  will  ? To  both  questions  he  replied 

in  the  negative.  Mr.  then  asked 

why  both  were  going  on  all  over  the 
country,  and  he  was  told  that  if  he  knew 
of  any  case  he  must  report  it  to  the 
authorities.  On  Mr.  ’s  return  to 


HUNG  BY  FEET  AND  WHIPPED  137 


his  house  the  following  day  he  found  a boy, 

Kalama,  who  had  fled  from  Snr. , 

of  Sakuayela,  to  whom  he  had  been  sold 

for  two  oxen.  Mr. sent  the  boy 

to  the  Chefe,  giving  full  particulars  of  the 
case,  as  he  knew  the  native  who  had  sold 
the  boy,  but  nothing  was  done  to  the 
white  who  had  bought,  nor  to  the  native 
who  had  sold  him  ! 

What  voice  had  poor  Ndiana  in  con- 
nection with  the  ‘ ‘ contract  ’ ’ ? And 
what  encouragement  is  there  for  foreign 
residents  to  appeal  to,  or  to  try  and  help 
the  authorities  in  enforcing  their  own 
laws,  when  they  coolly  hand  over  a poor 
girl  like  this  to  a life  of  torture  ; and, 
although  trouble  and  time  are  expended 
to  present  the  evidence,  which  the  au- 
thorities profess  to  desire,  as  in  the  case 
of  Kalama,  yet  absolutely  nothing 
is  done  ? Does  it  not  show  that,  while 
there  is  undoubtedly  a desire  to  get  hold 
of  all  runaway  slaves  there  is  no  true 
desire  either  to  obtain  evidence,  or  to 


138  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


dispense  justice  ? Can  you  blame  the 
foreign  resident  if  he  refuse,  under  such 
circumstances,  to  report  cases  that  come 
under  his  notice  ? Surely  the  authorities 
should  carry  out  their  own  laws  if  they 
expect  others  to  obey  them. 

More  Buying  and  Selling 

Mr. , of  the  Benguella  Railway 

Co.,  was  staying  with  a friend  of  mine, 
in  February,  1907,  and  told  him  that 

in  passing  the  house  of  Snr. , near 

the  Quanza  River,  he  was  ofPered  a little 
boy,  Ndala,  for  forty  mil  reis  by  the  white 

trader  in  charge.  Mr. took  pity 

on  the  little  chap,  paid  the  amount,  and 
then  handed  him  over  to  the  missionaries 

at  C.  to  be  cared  for.  Miss has 

the  copy  of  the  order  for  the  amount  in 
her  possession.  The  boy  was  bought  for 
a bag  of  meal  by  the  said  Portuguese 
trader  during  a time  of  famine.  The 
meal  would  not  cost  more  than  from 
three  to  five  shillings  ! 


MORE  BUYING  AND  SELLING  139 


On  25th  June,  1907,  Snr. , of 

S.,  went  to  Mr. demanding  a run- 

away slave  named  Adalia.  Her  story 
was  that  she  had  been  sold  to  a white 
while  being  held  as  a pledge.  (People 
are  often  given  as  pledges  in  this  way 
both  to  whites  and  blacks  till  such  times 
as  the  debts,  or  crimes,  can  be  paid.) 
The  woman’s  husband  afterwards  re- 
deemed her  with  four  oxen  and  a bale 
of  cloth,  or  rubber.  The  white  re-opened 

the  case  while  Snr. was  acting  as 

Chefe,  and,  obtaining  a contract  for  her, 

took  possession  of  her  again.  Mr. 

visited  her  husband,  who  corroborated 
his  wife’s  story.  Yet,  there  was  no 

remedy,  and  Mr. had  to  give  her 

up,  for,  as  the  law  stands,  anyone  shielding 
a contracted  person  is  liable  to  a fine  of 
200  mil  reis  and  six  months’  imprison- 
ment. Again  I ask,  what  can  possibly  be 
done  in  these  cases  when  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Government  are  so  lax  and 
indifferent  ? 


140 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Kahombo  is  a disabled  slave,  and  he 

was  turned  adrift  by  the of  C. 

because  of  his  being  unable  to  work. 
The  photo,  shows  how  terribly  his  hands 
have  been  burnt.  He  is  now  supported 
by  the  missionaries,  and,  in  this  case, 
the  traders  ‘ ‘ love  to  have  it  so.  ’ ’ 

We  are  frequently  told  that  it  is  “ an 
act  of  mercy  ’ ’ on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  redeem  these  poor  miserable 
creatures,  or  to  allow  traders  to  redeem 
them  (the  servi9aes)  lest  they  should  be 
put  to  death  or  tortured  for  witchcraft, 
&c.  But  how  comes  it  that  the  ‘ ‘ mercy” 
continues  no  longer  than  the  natives  in 
question  are  able  to  work  ? Perhaps  the 
‘ ‘ mercy  ’ ’ in  question  is  for  the  trader 
rather  than  for  the  native  ! 

Chitengi  was  one  of  those  unfortunate 
slaves  who  are  bought  in  the  interior, 
but  being  unable  to  drag  her  weary  body 
at  caravan  pace  through  the  Hungry 
Country,  she  would  probably  have  been 
killed  outright,  as  so  many  thousands 


Two  slaves  dragged  from  missionary’s  side  into  slavery  (p.  i(]4) 
Mutombo,  felled  with  a stool  Ngusu,  slave  boy  with  mark  of 
by  his  white  master,  (p.  145)  master’s  cruelt}' on  head  (p.  143) 


MORE  BUYING  AND  SELLING  141 


had  before  her  under  similar  circumstances, 

had  not  Mr. come  across  the 

caravan  and  redeemed  her.  She  is  now 
perfectly  well  and  happy,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  she  is  the  same 
miserable  specimen  of  humanity  I saw 
years  ago. 

Early  in  1907  a boy  named  Katalayu 

went  to  Mr. saying  he  had  run 

away  from  a white  trader  at  Chiyanga. 
On  31st  March  Mr.  — — heard  piercing 
screams  not  far  from  his  house.  He  ran 
out  and  found  Katalayu  securely  held  by 
a number  of  natives  who  were  accom- 
panied by  two  Portuguese.  Mr.  — — re- 
leased the  boy  and  took  him  into  his  house. 
The  Portuguese  followed,  demanding  that 
the  lad  be  delivered  to  them,  he  was  their 
property,  &c.,  &c.,  having  been  given 
to  them  in  payment  of  a debt.  The  boy 
himself  insisted  that  he  had  been  stolen 
from  his  home  and  sold  for  a basket  of 
corn  to  Ovimbundu,  who  sold  him  to  the 
traders.  Mr. absolutely  refused 


142 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


to  give  him  up,  and  some  time  after,  he 
was  able  to  restore  him  to  his  own  people. 
If  the  Portuguese  find  out  his  whereabouts 
they  will  certainly  take  him  by  force. 

Ngusu  is  a little  boy  whom  Mr. 

found  crouching  in  his  door-way  early 
one  morning.  He  had  run  away  from 

Snr. , now  at  Kachanjela.  Mr. 

took  the  boy  to  the  Chefe  of  the 

district,  who  said  he  might  remain  with 

Mr. . Later  (presumably  after 

he  had  been  visited  by  Snr. and 

some  mutual  understanding  come  to) 
the  Chefe  sent  for  the  lad,  and  the  man 

Mr.  sent  to  accompany  him  said 

he  was  beaten  and  given  back  to  Snr. 

. The  natives  reported  that  two 

days  later  Ngusu  was  sold  to  another 
white  trader.  (I  think  I have  mentioned 
before  that  a slave  who  once  runs  away, 
and  is  recaptured,  generally  changes  hands ; 
if  he  become  known  as  one  addicted  to 
this,  he  is  simply  shipped  to  the  islands 
from  which  only  death  can  offer  him  a 


MORE  BUYING  AND  SELLING  143 


way  of  escape).  Well,  what  was  the 
boy’s  own  story  ? He  and  his  mother 
were  brought  from  the  interior  and  sent 
to  the  coast.  The  mother  was  sent  to 
the  islands,  while  he  was  bought  by  a 

trader  who  sold  him  to  Snr. . 

The  bald  patch  on  the  poor  lad’s  head 
was  caused  by  his  inhuman  master  throw- 
ing boiling  water  over  him  in  a fit  of 
anger.  I have  in  my  possession  the 
letter  of  the  Chefe  demanding  the  presence 
of  the  lad  at  the  Fort,  and  saying  that 
if  the  case  seemed  to  require  it,  he  would 

be  sent  back  to  Snr. to  serve  him, 

seeing  that  that  ‘ ‘ gentleman  ’ ’ was  ‘ ‘ re- 
sponsible for  his  education  ! ” What  a 
farce ! A trader  becoming  responsible 
for  the  education  of  a servi9al ! Educa- 
tion in  what  ? one  would  ask. 

On  2nd  June,  1908,  Kanyenye  fled  to 

Mr. from  the  trader,  Snr. , 

of  S.  Mr. knew  her  father  and 

mother  well,  as  they  lived  at  C.,  where 
there  is  a mission  school.  Snr."^" 


144 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


seized  the  mother,  and  said  he  would 
keep  her  till  Kanyenye  was  returned  or 
a slave  given  to  take  her  place.  The 
father,  naturally  wanting  to  see  his  wife 
liberated,  went  to  a headman  at  Chipuli, 
and  arranged  with  him  to  give  a young 
woman  to  take  the  place  of  Kanyenye. 
Whoever  loses  in  these  cases  one  may  be 
very  certain  that  it  wiU  not  be  the  white 
man. 

Maloba  and  Banza  (the  former  with 

the  child),  came  to  Mr. ’s  house 

early  in  1907,  having  run  away  from 

their  master,  Snr.  , of  Chissende. 

Snr.  turned  up  with  ‘ ‘ contracts, 

&c.,”  duly  signed  and  triumphantly 
dragged  them  away  though  they  clung 
to  Mr. ’s  legs  and  begged  his  pro- 

tection. (God  only  knows  the  heart- 
aches the  missionaries  have  to  endure  in 
contact  with  this  shameful  traffic  !)  The 
women’s  own  story  is  this  : — Maloba  was 
caught  in  the  fields  between  Bihe  and  the 
coast  by  some  of  the  slaves  of  Snr. 


A group  of  slaves  (pp.  86,  166)  Man  wlio  is  taking  mother  and  child  to  sell 

Slave  route  from  Ondulu  country  to  Novo  at  Novo  Redondo  (p.  149) 

Redondo  (p.  148) 


MORE  BUYING  AND  SELLING  145 


and  brought  to  Bihe,  when  one  was 
allowed  to  have  her  as  his  wife.  * 
Banza  and  others  were  given  to  Snr. 

by  Tulumba  (known  to  me)  to 

obtain  his  help  in  a law  case.  Snr. 

took  the  slaves  and  did  nothing 

(of  course).  A young  fellow  living  with 

Mr. knew  Banza  when  she  was 

with  Tulumba. 

Mutombo  ran  to  Mr. , years  ago, 

from  Snr. , of  Tulumba,  and  is 

still  with  him.  His  history,  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  natives  of  the  district, 
is  as  follows  : — His  master  struck  him 
a tremendous  blow  on  the  head  with 
a stool,  inflicting  a serious  wound,  and, 
as  there  was  not  much  chance  of  recovery, 
he  was  told  to  go  and  die  in  the  bush. 
The  lad  dragged  himself  to  Mr. , 

* Every  year  this  ‘ ‘ catching  ’ ’ of  natives  goes  on,  especially 
when  the  grass  is  long.  When  slaves  can  catch  other 
natives  in  this  way  they  are  suitably  rewarded  by  their 
masters.  In  this  case  the  woman  became  the  wife  of 
one  of  them,  while  she  had  to  toil  for  the  trader  like  the 
rest.  This  is  an  easy  way  to  get  wives  and  to  provide 
the  traders  with  ‘ ‘ free-will  ’ ’ servi9aes  ! 

K 


146 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


and  after  prolonged  treatment,  recovered. 

Snr. , hearing  of  the  recovery,  wrote 

asking  for  the  lad  and  the  bill  for  his 

medical  treatment.  Mr.  refused 

to  comply,  and  later  some  men  came  and 
said  the  lad  had  better  be  on  the  look- 
out, for  Snr. had  offered  a reward 

of  eighty  yards  of  cloth  to  anyone  who 
could  capture  him  and  take  him  back. 
So  far,  Mutombo  has  escaped,  but  he  may 
disappear  at  any  time. 

Two  little  girls,  Losa  and  Chilomba, 

walked  into  Mr. ’s  compound  on 

31st  October,  1908,  saying  they  had  come 
from  a Portuguese  trader  at  S.  They 
were  brought  from  the  interior  with  their 
mothers  by  Ovimbundu.  The  mothers 
were  taken  to  the  coast  and  sold  to  the 
said  white  for  calico  and  rum.  The 
little  ones  said  they  were  called  dogs  and 
could  get  no  cloth  to  wear,  for  ‘ ‘ dogs 
did  not  require  clothing.”  Up  to  the 
time  I had  visited  Bihe,  they  had  not 
been  claimed.  Mr. would  gladly 


MORE  BUYING  AND  SELLING  147 


take  them  to  the  Chefe  but  (as  the  read- 
ing of  the  cases  I record  will  show)  he 
cannot  get  any  satisfaction.  In  no  case 
is  the  native  handed  back  to  the  care  of 
the  missionary,  whether  contracted  or 
not. 


Death  Preferred  to  Slavery 

A native  named  Siku  took  rations  from 

Snr. and  agreed  to  accompany 

him  to  the  interior ; while  away  he 

deserted  ; Snr. , on  his  return, 

demanded  compensation  from  Siku’s  re- 
latives. As  they  did  not  comply  with 

this  demand,  Snr. took  Siku  as 

his  slave.  A few  months  later  Siku 

became  ill,  and  Mr. was  asked  to 

treat  him.  Siku,  however,  told  the  young 
man  who  had  been  told  off  to  wait  upon 
him,  that  he  had  no  wish  to  get  better, 
and  he  would  not  take  the  medicine. 
One  evening  Mr. left  him  per- 

spiring heavily  between  two  blankets,  and 
there  seemed  fair  hopes  of  a recovery. 


148 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


Early  next  morning  Mr. found 

liim  lying  outside  of  his  hut,  where  he 
had  dragged  himself  and  lain  all  night. 
He  died,  of  course,  and  the  messenger 

v/hom  Mr. sent  to  give  notice  of 

his  death  heard  the  wife  of  Snr. 

say,  “ He  had  made  up  his  mind  to  die.” 

Reports  from  the  islands,  which  say 
that  the  servigaes  eat  earth  in  order  to 
bring  about  a speedy  death,  do  not 
seem  so  unlikely  in  the  light  of  this  and 
many  other  cases  of  which  one  is  con- 
stantly hearing. 

March  1st. — On  returning  to  the  coast 
I took  the  road  running  between  the 
Ondulu  country  and  Novo  Redondo. 
We,  however,  saw  no  slave  caravans, 
and  very  few  slaves,  though  at  some 
points  there  were  shackles,  but  they  were 
not  at  all  numerous.  Probably  most  of 
the  slaves  sent  to  Novo  Redondo  pass 
through  Bihe  and  Bailundu,  in  which 
case  they  would  follow  an  entirely  difiPer- 
eiit  route  from  the  one  we  passed  over. 


DEATH  PREFERRED  TO  SLA  VERY  149 


They  may  be  sent  to  Novo  Redondo, 
rather  than  Benguella,  because  of  its 
being  a much  quieter  port  and  much  less 
frequented  by  Englishmen.  Feeble  re- 
ports are  abroad  to  the  effect  that  the 
Governor  has  issued  orders  that  no  more 
natives  must  be  bought  or  sold.  How 
many  times  have  similar  orders  been 
issued,  but  just  as  many  times  has  the 
thing  begun  again  after  the  first  scare 
has  passed.  One  might  cite  the  scare 
following  the  Bailundu  war  as  an  instance 
of  many  others. 

My  Camera  Divines! 

March,  1909. 

5th. — Yesterday  my  men  reported  a 
conversation  they  had  with  a man  who 
was  taking  a woman  and  her  little 
daughter  to  sell  at  Novo  Redondo.  I 
made  a note  of  the  principal  points  of 
the  conversation,  so,  when  they  came 
into  camp  to-day,  I asked  him  if  it  were 
true  that  he  was  going  to  sell  them. 


15° 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


(The  child  is  perhaps  seven  years  of  age.) 
The  man,  evidently  scared  at  my  ap- 
parition, denied  that  he  had  any  such 
intention.  I then  told  him  he  should 
be  careful  not  to  say  anything  that  did 
not  agree  with  what  was  in  his  heart. 
Then  I added,  ‘ ‘ Listen  ! ’ ’ (and  looking 
down  into  the  ‘ ‘ finder  ’ ’ of  my  camera, 
I repeated  the  principal  points  of  his 
conversation  with  the  men,  but  he  did 
not  know  they  were  my  men).  “ With 
your  lips  you  say  you  are  not  taking  the 
woman  and  child  to  sell  them,  but  in 
your  heart  you  have  decided  to  hand 
them  over  to  the  whites  for  the  best  price 
they  will  give  you.  You  charge  the 
woman  with  being  a witch,  and  you  say 
the  child  will  probably  become  a witch 
also,  so  you  think  you  had  better  sell 
them  both.  They  are  very  tired  with  the 
long  journey,  and  the  woman  has  asked 
you,  more  than  once,  to  kill  her,  rather 
than  to  hand  her  over  to  the  whites. 
The  little  girl  is  very  brave,  probably 


MY  CAMERA  DIVINES! 


151 


because  she  does  not  know  what  it  means 
to  be  a white  man’s  slave,  and  she  has 
pleaded  with  her  mother  not  to  be  afraid, 
but  to  face  her  fate  bravely.  Is  not  all 
this  true  ? ” As  I proceeded  the  man’s 
hand  had  gone  up  to  his  wide-open  mouth 
and,  with  eyes  staring  as  though  they 
might  start  out  of  their  sockets,  he 
confessed,  ‘ ‘ The  white  man’s  machine 
has  divined  the  truth,  I cannot  deny 
what  it  has  told  him.”  I commanded 
him  to  take  his  stand  by  the  woman  and 
child,  to  which  he  meekly  submitted,  and 
I took  their  photograph.  Whether  he 
will  turn  back  or  proceed  I cannot  say. 
The  woman  told  me  her  own  story  after- 
wards, and  the  look  of  appeal  in  the  little 
girl’s  eyes  deeply  touched  my  heart. 
Had  I been  going  up  country,  I should 
probably  have  risked  taking  them  under 
my  protection  ; as  I was  not,  I could 
only  sigh  and  leave  them. 

8th. — When  I visited  the  Chefe  at  Novo 
Redondo,  I presented  my  passport,  &c. 


152 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


After  some  general  conversation  he  asked 
me  if  it  were  true  that  a number  of 
servi9aes  had  been  to  my  tent  with  com- 
plaints ! When  I told  him  that  no 
servi9al  had  spoken  with  me  since  my 
arrival  he  said  he  must  have  been  mis- 
informed. I felt  rather  inclined  to  add 
that  I was  sorry  I had  failed  to  get  into 
conversation  with  the  servi9aes. 

Slaves  on  Steamers,  and  their  Statements 

16th. — From  Rovo  Redondo  I went  to 
Benguella,  in  the  ‘ ‘ Ambaca,  ’ ’ where  I 
disembarked  and  awaited  her  return  from 
the  south.  When  I got  on  board  to-day 
I found  about  fifty-three  servi9aes  gather- 
ed together  in  the  fore  part  of  the  ship. 
The  usual  tin  cylinders  were  hanging  at 
their  waists  and  tin  tickets  with  their 
numbers,  and  in  some  cases  the  name  of 
the  recruiting  company  who  had  shipped 
them,  fastened  with  a bit  of  string  round 
their  necks.  They  were  all  well  clothed, 
and  the  men  wore  hats. 


SLAVES  ON  STEAMERS 


153 


17th. — At  Novo  Redondo  we  added 
considerably  to  the  number  of  servi9aes, 
bringing  it  up  to  one  hundred,  or  more. 
I saw  one  boat-load  of  about  thirty  come 
on  board.  There  must  have  been  others 
whom  I did  not  see  embark,  for  there 
were  only  four  men  in  this  particular 
boat,  but  when  later  I went  along  to 
try  and  get  into  conversation  with  them, 
I saw  dozens  of  other  men.  I knew  they 
were  from  Novo  Redondo,  because  of  the 
difference  in  their  dress  from  those  who 
came  on  board  at  Benguella.  It  was  a 
touching  sight ! They  were  all  huddled 
in  the  bottorii  of  the  boat  like  so  many 
frightened  rats  from  whom  every  avenue 
of  escape  had  been  cut  off.  The  boat- 
men kicked  and  pushed  them  when  it 
was  time  to  climb  the  ladder.  Many  of 
the  women  had  babies  clinging  to  their 
backs,  but  babies,  if  they  live,  become 
cheap  servi9aes  and,  never  having  known 
what  that  sweet  word  ‘ ‘ liberty  ’ ’ means, 
probably  cause  their  owners  less  trouble. 


154 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


as  they  are  not  nearly  so  likely  to  attempt 
to  run  away. 

Though  the  officers  of  the  steamer 
looked  very  suspiciously  at  me  for  daring 
to  take  photos  of  the  servigaes,  I had  not 
much  difficulty.  Neither  had  I much 
difficulty  in  getting  into  conversation 
with  them  afterwards,  as  they  lay  huddled 
together  on  the  forecastle.  The  few 
whites  around,  while  curiously  listening 
to  our  conversation,  did  not  understand 
the  language. 

One  with  whom  I conversed  said  he 
was  from  Bihe.  His  ticket  was  marked 
“ Agencia  de  EmigraQao  de  Novo  Re- 
dondo, No.  396.”  His  tale  was  a very 
common  one.  He  was  “ caught,”  handed 
to  the  whites,  sent  to  the  coast,  and 
now  he  was  on  his  way  to  S.  Thome. 
He  said  it  was  too  bad  to  be  dealt  with 
in  this  manner,  seeing  he  had  not  been 
guilty  of  any  crime.  He  pointed  out  a 
number  of  others  who  had  been  brought 
down  to  the  coast  in  the  same  gang. 


SLAVES  ON  STEAMERS 


155 


Another  wore  a ticket  which  bore  the 
number  83,  but  no  other  mark.  He  was 
from  the  Ondulu  country,  and  had  been 
sold  to  the  whites.  He  knew  the  Ameri- 
can Mission  Station  at  Ochileso,  &c.,  &c. 
He  said  the  whites  said  he  would  be 
brought  back  at  the  end  of  five  years, 
‘ ‘ but,  ’ ’ he  added,  ‘ ‘ the  whites  are 
liars,”  and  he  hopelessly  turned  away. 

Another  with  whom  I spoke  called  one 
of  his  fellows  and  pointed  him  out  as  one 
in  whom  I would  be  interested.  His  ticket 
was  marked,  “ Agencia  de  Emigra9ao, 
Catumbella,  No.  138.”  He  was  a native 

of  Chisamba,  Bihe.  He  knew  Dr. , 

Mr. , and  myself.  He  had  fre- 

quently attended  the  meetings  at  Chis- 
amba, and  was  a carrier  in  Dr. ’s 

caravan  when  that  gentleman  went  down 
to  Caconda  to  see  about  his  waggon. 
On  that  occasion  he  slept  at  my  village, 
Ochilonda.  He  had  been  handed  to  the 
whites  in  payment  of  some  crime  of  a 
relative. 


156  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


There  was  nothing  more  to  be  done 
but  to  leave  them  to  their  fate,  or  what- 
ever it  may  be  called,  so  once  more  I 
turned  away  with  a heavy  heart.  Shall 
it  continue  to  be  said,  ‘ ‘ There  is  no  eye 
to  pity  and  no  arm  to  save  ” these  poor 
suffering  fellow-creatures,  whose  only 
crime  is  that  of  colour  and  environment  ? 
Had  the  Creator’s  will  been  that  we  should 
have  been  born  of  the  same  colour,  and 
under  the  same  circumstances,  our  help- 
lessness would  have  been  just  as  absolute. 
But  we  are  not  of  the  same  colour,  we  are 
not  the  victims  of  sucK  cruel  circum- 
stances, we  are  white,  free-born,  and 
delight  to  sing  ‘ ‘ Britons  never,  never, 
NEVER  shall  be  slaves.  ” Then  the  Creator 
has  so  ordered  it  that  we  should  be  ready 
to  raise  our  voice,  and,  if  necessary,  our 
arm,  in  defence  of  the  helpless,  and  shall 
the  mere  ‘ ‘ bluff  ’ ’ of  what  one  is  com- 
pelled to  call  the  scum  of  the  Portuguese 
nation  hinder  us  from  doing  so  ? I am 
more  than  ever  persuaded  that  justice- 


SLAVES  ON  STEAMERS 


157 


loving  people  among  the  Portuguese,  and 
they  are  numerous,  more  numerous  than 
most  foreigners  think,  if  they  could  be 
persuaded  of  the  true  condition  of  things, 
would  be  with  us  in  our  efforts  to  bring 
about  reforms. 

26tll.— Took  passage  for  Lisbon  on  the 
‘ ‘ Portugal.  ’ ’ We  have  on  board  perhaps 
200  servi9aes  from  the  East  Coast.  I 
regret  that  none  of  them  understand  any 
language  I know,  so  conversation  is 
impossible.  Their  tin  tickets  are  marked, 
“ Agencia  Quelimane  B.M.,  1909,”  and 
the  number.  They  are  a more  sturdy  lot 
than  those  from  the  West  Coast,  and  seem 
somewhat  merrier.  Probably  because 
their  ignorance  of  what  they  are  going  to 
is  more  complete  than  those  from  the 
West ! 

Cruel  Treatment  of  a Girl 

On  the  eve  of  my  leaving  Africa  I 
received  a communication  from  Dr. 
, of  B.,  the  gist  of  which  is  as 


158  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


follows : — During  the  month  of  April, 
1908,  a girl  of  ten  or  twelve  years  of 
age,  fled  to  me  for  protection.  She  told 
several  different  stories,  but  after  close 
questioning  we  found  she  was  a runaway 
slave  from  M.  We  gave  her  food  and 
put  her  to  work  in  the  usual  manner.  In 
a few  days  we  heard  that  a white  trader, 

Snr. , had  a man  going  about  the 

country  in  search  of  this  girl,  whose  name 
was  Luiza  (a  name  given  to  her  by  the 
trader).  The  man  came  to  us,  and  I 
informed  him  that  the  girl  was  in  our 
village  and  under  our  protection,  so  if  the 
trader  wanted  her  he  must  get  a letter 
from  the  Chefe  at  M.  The  trader  tried 
to  obtain  this  letter,  but  failed,  so  he  came 
in  person  to  see  me.  I asked  him  if  he 
had  brought  a letter,  but  he  answered  in 
the  negative,  explaining  that  the  Chefe 
refused  to  give  him  one  as  he  had  no 
written  contract  for  the  girl.  He  added, 
however,  that  the  Chefe  said  the  Dr. 
might  deliver  up  the  girl,  if  his  heart 


CRUEL  TREATMENT  OF  A GIRL  159 


were  good.  I,  of  course,  refused,  but, 
I said,  ‘ ‘ Let  us  go  and  have  a talk  with 
the  girl.  ’ ’ The  trader  refused  and  left 
me.  He  had  with  him  four  Luena  natives, 
so  they  went  and  caught  the  girl  on  our 
village  and  carried  her  off  by  force.  I, 
and  a few  natives,  followed,  overtook 
them,  released  the  girl,  caught  one  of  the 
Luenas  and,  as  the  trader  positively 
refused  to  accompany  me  back,  I took 
his  hammock.  The  same  day,  in  the 
afternoon,  I took  the  hammock  and  the 
Luena  native  to  the  Fort.  After  making 
a detailed  statement  of  all  that  had 
happened,  I said  the  girl  would  remain 
in  our  village  till  the  Chefe  sent  for  her. 
The  Chefe  seemed  satisfied  with  all  I had 
done.  Afterwards  I received  a letter 
(this  is  now  in  my  possession)  demanding 
my  presence  and  that  of  the  girl  at  the 
Fort.  To  my  surprise  I was  spoken  to 
very  sharply  by  the  Chefe,  who  read  to 
me  a couple  of  articles  on  Portuguese  law. 
He  then  took  the  girl  and  handed  her 


i6o 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


over.  This  was  the  last  I saw  of  her, 
but  the  natives  said  that  when  Snr. 

got  her  into  his  possession  he 

beat  her  so  unmercifully  that  he  broke 
her  left  arm  and  made  her  say  that  I had 
paid  cloth  for  her  to  the  natives  and  that 
was  how  she  came  to  be  in  our  village ! 

Adulterer  Demands  Two  Slaves! 

The  following  case  is  one  I heard  of 
from  different  sources,  and  I tried  hard 
to  get  hold  of  the  native  who  handed  the 
slave  to  the  Chefe,  but  I failed.  However, 
I asked  a friend  of  mine  to  find  him  and 
get  particulars.  My  friend  was  successful, 
and  sends  the  following  : — S.  came  the 
other  day.  He  said  the  Chefe  D.  went  to 
the  Fort  to  pay  his  accustomed  visit. 
In  passing  through  Ohualondo,  a woman 
joined  the  caravan,  saying  she  also  wanted 
to  go  to  the  Fort  as  her  child  was  there, 
and  she  wanted  D.  to  speak  to  the  Chefe 
on  her  behalf.  When  at  the  Forte  the 
Chefe  took  this  woman  and  committed 


Women  slaves  on  s.s.  “ Ambaca,”  bound  for  Embarking  slaves  at  Novo  Redondo;  climbing 

San  Tliome  (p.  153)  up  ship's  ladder  (p.  153) 


DEMANDS  TWO  SLAVES  i6i 

adultery  with  her.  The  Chefe’s  own  native 
woman  was  very  angry  when  she  found 
this  out,  and  the  Chefe  said  as  D.  had 
brought  the  woman,  and  she  tempted 
him,  he  must  pay  two  slaves  ! D.  hesi- 
tated, as  he  had  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter,  the  woman  having  gone  to 
the  Fort  of  her  own  choice.  The  Chefe, 
however,  insisted  that  the  two  slaves 
must  be  paid.  S.  (the  man  who  supplied 
these  particulars)  took  over  a lad  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age  and 
handed  him  to  the  Chefe.  He  said  there 
was  another  lad  at  D.’s  village  who 
would  also  be  sent  to  the  Chefe  ! This 
is  a strange  kind  of  justice  ! 

The  man  S.  who  gave  the  details  of  the 
foregoing  case,  also  confirmed  the  case 
recorded  on  pages  121-124. 

Nine  Slaves  Protected 

Mr. writes  me  that  not  long 

after  I left  Bihe,  two  men,  four  women, 
a girl,  and  a couple  of  little  children. 


i62 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


appeared  at  his  village.  They  were  slaves 
of  a man  named  Saulamba.  They  said 
they  had  suffered  great  hardships,  and 
their  master  had  sold  nearly  all  his 
other  slaves  to  white  traders.  One  of 

the  women  had  been  sold  to  Snr. , 

but  she  ran  away.  Snr. demanded 

and  got  another  slave  in  her  place. 
Another  woman  was  the  sister  of  A.  N’g., 
mentioned  on  pages  97-102.  (Probably 
the  fact  of  her  brother  being  with  my 
friend  led  her  to  guide  the  others  there.) 
They  were  allowed  to  remain  for  about 
two  weeks,  when  Saulamba  turned  up 
with  quite  a following,  looking  for  his 
slaves.  He  had  been  to  another  friend 

of  mine,  Mr. , in  search  of  them, 

and  he  asked  Mr.  to  give  him  a 

letter  to  Mr. . The  letter  was 

given,  but  Mr. wrote  that  he  thought 

the  bearer  was  about  the  vilest  villain 
in  Bihe,  and  that  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  keep  the  slaves  from  falling  into 
his  hands  again.  Saulamba  said  he  ob- 


NINE  SLAVES  PROTECTED  163 

tained  the  slaves  many  years  ago.  When 
asked  about  selling  to  the  whites,  he 
denied,  but  added  that  a white  trader 
of  Catumbella  had  given  him  ten  guns 
(cap  guns)  with  which  to  buy  slaves  in 
the  far  interior.  He  went  to  the  interior, 
but  was  plundered  by  the  Valese  and  the 
white  trader  took  thirty  of  his  people ! 
He  said  he  took  the  case  to  the  Fort,  when 

Snr. was  Chefe,  and  the  trader 

was  ordered  to  return  the  slaves,  but, 
instead  of  doing  so,  he  fled  and  nothing 
had  been  seen  of  him  or  them  since. 
The  slaves  then  present  also  confirmed 
this  story.  Each  one  was  asked  to 
give  reasons  for  having  left  Saulamba, 
and  they  told  of  their  sufferings,  while 
some  showed  scars  caused  by  the  ‘ ‘ chic- 
ote,”  and  one  an  old  wound  caused  by 
a gun.  Esenje  was  the  one  who  was 

given  to  Snr. in  payment  for  a keg 

of  rum.  Nuali  said  she  had  been  kept 
in  a slave-yoke  and  suffered  great  pain. 
Nayululu,  of  about  fourteen  years,  said 


164 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


she  was  the  child  of  Saulamba,  A. 
N’g.’s  sister.  She  was  treated  as  a slave 
because  she  was  the  child  of  a slave. 
This  girl  was  given  to  a slave  to  be  his 
Avife,  though  he  already  had  another 
woman.  The  man  had  come  with  Sau- 
lamba and  he  tried  hard  to  get  the  girl 
to  go  back  with  him.  When  he  saw  there 
was  no  hope  of  forcing  her  to  do  so,  he 
also  said  he  would  stay  as  all  his  fellows 
were  there.  Saulamba  now  thought  he 
had  “ put  his  foot  into  it  ” in  bringing 
this  slave  along.  My  friend  said  he  had 
better  go  back,  and  he  went  away  crying. 
The  slaves  were  then  asked  to  give  the 
names  of  their  fellows  who  had  been  sold 
to  the  whites,  and  they  mentioned  13. 
(I  have  their  names,  and  in  most  cases, 
particulars  of  where  and  for  Avhat  they 

AA^ere  sold.)  They  assured  Mr.  — 

that  there  were  others  also.  All  these 
slaves  had  been  at  the  Fort  complaining 
of  ill-treatment  during  the  time  when 
Snr. was  Chefe,  but  he  had  only  called 


NINE  SLAVES  PROTECTED  165 

Saulamba  and  told  him  that  if  he  did  not 
treat  them  better,  liberty  would  be  given 
them  to  go  and  build  where  they  pleased. 

Mr. adds  that  on  2nd  March, 

six  lads  turned  up,  the  oldest  of  whom 
was  not  more  than  fifteen.  They  said 
they  were  from  the  white  man’s  at  S. 
Seeing  the  white  man  in  question  was  an 
‘ ‘ Emigration  Agent,  ’ ’ he  supposed  he 
had  ‘ ‘ contracts  ’ ’ for  them  all,  though 
some  could  not  be  more  than  twelve 
years  old.  He,  in  spite  of  his  deep 
sympathy  and  desire  to  help  the  helpless, 
had  to  turn  them  away  from  his  door. 
Try  and  picture  that  sorrowful  little 
group  as  they  wandered  away  ! Oh, 
what  must  have  been  their  thoughts  of 
the  whites  ? May  their  very  silence 
touch  our  hearts  ! 

Not  An  Uncommon  Sight 

A friend  of  mine  writes  me  from 
Kalunda  Hill,  under  date  of  15th  January, 
1909,  saying,  “In  journeying  through 


166 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TOD  A Y 


the  Chibokwe  country,  or  ‘ Hungry  Coun- 
try, ’ as  it  is  sometimes  called,  I have  seen 
large  caravans  of  slaves.  A very  common 
sight  was  batches  of  strong,  able-bodied 
men  tied  together  and  marching  along 
each  with  a load.  One  afternoon  a 
large  caravan  passed  us,  and  early  next 
morning  we  came  across  signs  on  the 
path  that  suggested  a struggle  had  taken 
place.  Ten  or  twelve  yards  from  the 
path,  I found  the  body  of  a man  with 
a hole  in  his  head.  I have  seen  them 
(the  slaves)  driven  along  like  cattle  on 
the  narrow  paths,  tottering  under  their 
heavy  burdens,  threatened  with  the  lash, 
and  their  poor  bodies  bruised  and  lacer- 
ated. One  had  to  turn  away,  the  sight  was 
too  revolting.” 

Once  a “Contracted”  Labourer  always  a 
“ Contracted  ” Labourer 

Another  friend  wTiting  from  Kavungu, 
speaking  of  his  experiences,  says,  “ It  is 
demanded  of  us  to  hand  over  to  the  Fort 


ALWAYS  "CONTRACTED" 


167 


any  native  coming  to  us  for  work,  whether 
he  be  contracted  or  not.  . . . The 

captain  of  one  Fort,  giving  information 
on  the  matter,  gave  me  to  understand 
that  ‘once  a contracted  labourer  always 
a contracted  labourer,’  for  to  let  them 
go  after  the  five  years’  period  of  contract 
would  be  to  let  vagabonds  be  at  large, 
hence  the  contract  must  be  renewed 
or  the  party  go  to  the  Fort.  I have  never 
heard  of  a slave  of  a white  man  getting 
back  to  his  home.  Attempts  are  often 
made  to  escape,  but  they  are  generally 
caught  and  brought  back  again  to  slavery. 
A number  of  these  Luba-land  slaves  who 
escaped  from  Bihe  and  elsewhere  were 
caught  at  Mexico  ; they  are  kept  em- 
ployed about  the  Fort  and  compelled 
to  stay.  A recent  determined  attempt 
to  escape  was  fruitless.  When  they  had 
gone  several  hundred  miles  most  of  them 
were  again  caught,  and  I saw  them  brought 
back  in  chains  accompanied  by  soldiers 
and  officers.” 


i68 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


What  is  said  above  about  “ once  a 
contracted  labourer,  always  a contracted 
labourer,  ’ ’ is  the  absolute  truth,  to  which 
I and  many  others  can  bear  testimony. 
Such  a thing  as  ever  regaining  liberty, 
except  by  escape  or  death,  never  enters 
into  the  dreams  of  a servi9al. 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  a letter 
I received  in  April  of  this  year  : — 

‘ ‘ I want  to  Avrite  just  a little  about  the 
Slave  Trade.  It  is  going  on  here  like 
everything.  About  two  weeks  ago  a 
man  from  Soma  Kasenje — the  nearest 
village — was  here,  and  we  were  talking 
of  slavery.  He  said  that  eight  people 
had  been  sold  from  their  village  this  year. 
I said  the  authorities  do  not  permit  it. 
He  answered,  ‘ These  aU  went  on  orders 
from  the  Fort  to  square  up  old  law- 
suits.’ Just  about  this  time  a small 
boy  came  here  to  work.  After  working 
a few  days  some  one  came  for  him. 
I learnt  afterwards  that  he  was  sent  as 
a slave.  I inquired  and  found  that 


ALWAYS  CONTRACTED" 


169 


Sekeseke,  the  official  carrier  - gatherer 
for  the  Fort  in  Chivanda,  Olonduimbali, 
came  with  soldiers  and  demanded  two 
people,  and  they  let  him  have  this  boy 
and  a girl.  Some  months  ago  Soma 
Kasenje  came  with  a scrap  of  paper  and 
asked  me  to  read  it.  It  was  part  of  an 
order  requiring  carriers.  It  had  a date, 
an  old  one,  but  neither  name  of  Com- 
mandante  nor  of  the  person  in  the  village 
to  which  it  was  addressed.  I said  this 
was  worth  nothing,  and  he  must  not  pay 
anything  on  it.  The  boy  and  girl  were 
carried  away  on  the  authority  of  this 
paper.  The  same  Sekeseke  took  five 
people  from  Ekovongo  with  no  other 
warrant  than  the  soldiers  he  had  with 
him.  They  say  he  is  doing  this  con- 
tinually. ’ ’ 

Slaves  on  Steamers  Again 

The  following  are  extracts  from  another 
letter  which  I received  this  month  (May) : 

‘ ‘ When  travelling  to  England  in  Sep- 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


1 70 


tember,  1896,  on  board  the  s.s.  ‘ Loanda,’ 
the  steamer  shipped  about  200  slaves  for 
S.  Thome,  two-thirds  were  from  Ben- 
guella,  the  remainder  from  Novo  Redondo. 
Some  of  these  I interviewed,  being  able 
to  speak  their  dialects.  One,  an  elderly 
man,  quite  gentlemanly  in  his  way,  with 
two  bright-looking  boys  by  his  side,  said, 

‘ Can  you  not  do  anything  for  me  ? 
I belong  to  the  Ondulu  country  and 
possessed  cattle  ; these  by  accident  got 
into  my  neighbour’s  fields,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, I and  my  two  sons  were  caught 
and  carried  off  to  the  Portuguese  and 
sold.’  Others  asked  me,  ‘ What  will 
our  owners  do  with  us  when  we  reach 
S.  Thome,  will  they  kill  us  and  eat  us  ? ’ ” 
“ On  my  return  to  Africa,  in  1904, 
travelling  via  Loanda  to  LucaUa,  my 
porters  told  me  they  saw  slaves  being 
stowed  away  in  the  close  waggons  and 
covered  over  with  mats  to  secrete  them, 
and  thus  they  were  being  sent  down  to 
Loanda  by  rail.” 


SLA  VES  ON  STEA MERS  AGAIN  1 7 1 


‘ ‘ A Portuguese  trader,  Snr. , up 

to  two  years  ago  raided  villages  north 
of  Kavungu  catching  women,  which  he 
exchanged  with  natives  for  cattle.  In 
Kazombo  several  slaves,  bought  in  this 
way  by  natives,  I know.  ’ ’ 

I give  yet  further  extracts  from  a 
letter  of  a friend  who  has  had  con- 
siderable experience  over  a large  part 
of  the  Province. 

“ During  the  year  1901,  at  Ohualondo, 
Bihe,  I saw  a caravan  passing,  travelling 
towards  Benguella,  in  which  there  were 
about  forty  slaves,  a number  of  whom  were 
fastened  by  means  of  ropes  round  their 
necks.  A Portuguese  was  riding  in  a 
tipoia  with  the  caravan,  and  to  the  tipoia 
pole  were  attached  two  revolvers,  doubt- 
less for  the  purpose  of  instilling  awe  into 
the  minds  of  would-be  runaways.” 

‘ ‘ In  the  region  known  as  the  ‘ Hungry 
Country,’  which  lies  to  the  east  of  the 
Quanza  River,  a large  caravan  passed 
our  camp  one  day  in  July,  1902.  This 


172 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


caravan  contained  about  200  slaves,  men, 
women,  and  children,  some  of  the  latter 
being  carried.  This  caravan  was  going 
in  the  direction  of  Bihe,  and  Ovimbundu 
were  in  charge.  ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ In  August,  1906,  a caravan  passed 
through  Ochilonda,  Bihe,  containing 
twenty-five  slaves.  Getting  into  con- 
versation with  one  of  the  head  men  of  this 
caravan,  an  Ochimbundu,  he  admitted 
to  me  that  they  had  been  able  to  purchase 
quite  a number  of  slaves  in  the  Lunda 
country,  and  that  those  under  his  charge 
were  only  part  of  the  number  purchased, 
the  others  having  gone  in  another  direc- 
tion to  a different  district.” 

Important  Testimony  from  the  Interior 

I am  thankful  to  be  able  to  insert  the 
following  from  one  who  has  actually 
lived  for  very  many  years  on  the  great 
slave  route  in  the  far  interior,  consider- 
ably further  in  than  I was  able  to  reach 
during  my  last  journey.  His  experience 


TESTIMONY  FROM  INTERIOR  173 


is  a very  wide  one  and,  in  his  efforts  to 
obtain  justice  for  the  suffering  Africans, 
he  has  run  great  personal  risk  and  in- 
curred the  lasting  hatred  of  many  of  the 
traders  and  of  some  of  the  officials 

Innumerable  instances  of  slave  trading 
have  come  under  my  own  observation  in 
the  interior  of  Angola,  where  I have  spent 
the  greater  part  of  the  last  eighteen  years. 
And  it  may  be  well  to  explain  that  by  the 
term  ‘ ‘ slave  trade  ” I do  not  mean 
“domestic  slavery,”  but  the  sale  and 
purchase  of  people  and  their  deportation 
(against  their  will)  to  places  200-300,  or 
even  1,000  miles  and  more  from  their 
homes.  So  far,  in  fact,  that  as  a rule 
they  could  not  find  their  way  back  again 
even  if  allowed  to  try. 

Up  to  about  1900-1901  this  trade  was 
carried  on  in  the  above-mentioned  region 
almost  exclusively  by  natives  from  Bihe, 
who  traded  either  on  their  own  account, 
or  else  were  supplied  with  trade  goods  by 
white  traders  (Portuguese)  who  had  their 


174 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


establishments  in  Bihe,  Bailundu,  or  on 
the  West  Coast,  on  whose  account  the 
slaves  were  bought  in  the  far  interior,  and 
to  whom  they  were  delivered.  For 
safety’s  sake  these  slave  traders  travelled 
in  large  companies  when  going  on  their 
far-off  trading  expeditions,  and  caravans 
with  200-300  slaves  (men,  women,  and 
children)  I often  met  with,  and  some- 
times even  with  larger  numbers.  I know 
that  in  those  early  years  the  Bihean 
slave  traders  would  go  far  into  the  Congo 
Free  State — across  the  Lomame  River, 
or  near  the  western  shores  of  Lake 
Tanganyika,  or  to  Lake  Mweru  and 
the  Luapula  River,  or  even  across  the 
Kafur  River,  in  Rhodesia.  Some  of  their 
trading-grounds  must  have  been  fully 
2,000  miles  from  their  homes  in  Bihe. 
It  goes  without  saying  that  a large  pro- 
portion of  the  slaves  brought  such  long 
distances  died  on  the  way,  and  the  number 
of  bleached  skeletons  or  dead  bodies  in 
different  stages  of  decomposition  which 


TESTIMONY  FROM  INTERIOR  175 


I often  saw  along  the  caravan  roads  told 
their  own  tales.  The  wretched  creatures 
thus  driven  over  endless  plains,  through 
forests  and  across  rivers,  through  districts 
where  food  was  scarce,  day  after  day  and 
week  after  week  at  the  rate  of  six  to  nine 
hours  a day,  would,  for  the  night,  have 
their J feet  (and  sometimes  their  hands 
too)  shackled.  The  shackles  they  would 
have  to  carry  on  their  loads  during  the 
day.  Some  of  the  shackles  used  are 
made  to  secure  one  person  only — others 
for  two  or  more.  When  several  slaves 
are  shackled  in  the  same  fetters — they 
would  be  so  uncomfortable  that  although 
they  might  be  dead  tired  from  the  march, 
they  would  get  but  little  or  no  sleep. 
On  the  march  they  are  often  roped 
together,  or  else  tied  to  their  own  loads 
to  prevent  them  running  away.  Often 
three  or  four  would  be  seen  tied  together 
with  the  same  rope.  Should  the  pro- 
portion of  traders  to  slaves  be  large  enough 
to  have  each  slave  individually  watched 


176  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


on  the  road,  they  were  generally  not 
roped  during  the  march.  Numbers  of 
such  slave  caravans  have  passed  close  to 
Portuguese  Forts,  and  sometimes  even 
camped  for  the  night  within  a few 
minutes  of  a Fort,  and  yet  I know  of  no 
instance  where  the  officers  in  charge 
interfered  with  the  trade.  The  Forts 
especially,  in  my  mind,  are  those  of 
Moxico  and  at  the  Quanza  River. 

300  Slaves  in  One  Caravan 

In  the  summer  of  1900,  on  my  way  to 
the  West  Coast,  I fell  in  with  a large 
caravan  of  slaves — not  far  from  Lake 
Dilolo,  and  was  obliged  for  a number  of 
days  to  travel  with  them,  and  sometimes 
to  camp  in  the  same  place.  There  must 
have  been  over  300  slaves  in  the  caravan 
— women  and  children  being  largely  in 
the  majority.  I would  gladly  have  put 
a distance  between  them  and  ourselves, 
as  it  was  most  revolting  to  my  wife  and 
me  to  daily  witness  the  horrors  of  the 


Slaves  disembarking  off  San  Thome  Slaves  on  steamer,  looking  towards  San  Thome 

(pp.  20,  t94)  (p.  170) 


300  SLAVES  IN  ONE  CARAVAN  177 


whole  thing,  but  we  were  told  that 
though  the  caravan  was  large,  it  really 
was  only  a part  of  one — other  parts 
being  either  a day  or  two  ahead  of  us  or 
else  just  behind  us,  so  that  by  going 
ahead,  or  by  staying  behind,  we  should 
still  have  fallen  in  with  the  same  thing. 
We  had  abundant  proof  that  some  were 
ahead — not  only  by  coming  across  their 
large  camping  places  only  recently  vacated 
— but  also  by  coming  on  dead  bodies  just 
beginning  to  decompose.  All  such  corpses 
found  near  the  camps  or  near  the  path 
must  have  been  the  bodies  of  slaves,  as 
they  would  have  been  buried  by  their 
friends  had  they  been  free  people.  But, 
worse  than  that,  one  evening,  coming 
into  camp  after  a long  and  tiresome 
journey  across  a large  waterless  plain, 
the  Christian  native  who  was  with  us, 
and  who  always  marched  behind  to 
look  after  stragglers,  enquired  of  me 
whether  I noticed  a sick  man  on  the  plain. 
“No,”  I said,  “I  saw  no  one  except 

M 


178  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


our  own  people  and  the  slave  caravan 
travelling  with  us.”  “ Well,”  he  said, 
‘ ‘ on  that  plain,  after  everybody  had 
passed  except  myself — I saw  a head  pop 
up  out  of  the  grass  a few  yards  off  the 
path,  and  a poor  deserted  slave  begged 
me  for  some  food,  which  I gave  him,  and 
I also  pointed  out  to  him  where  the 
nearest  water  was  to  be  found,  if  he  could 
manage  to  crawl  so  far,  but  I am  afraid 
he  would  not  be  able  to  reach  it,  as  he 
had  a bad  sore  on  his  leg  and  a newly 
inflicted  cut  on  his  head.”  He  was  thus 
left  by  the  slave  caravan  that  preceded 
us. 


Mortality  of  Slaves  on  Journey 

Some  days  later,  in  conversation  with 
one  of  the  traders,  I obtained  from  him 
the  information  that  he  traded  on  behalf 
of  a Portuguese  who  lived  beyond  Bail- 
undu,  and  that  he  had  a batch  of  about 
forty-five  slaves  for  him.  He  volunteered 
the  statement  that  they  had  been  travel- 


MORTALITY  ON  JOURNEY 


179 


ling  daily  for  weeks  before  I fell  in  with 
them,  and  that  they  had  been  trading 
in  the  Congo  Free  State — across  the 
Lomame  River.  “ But,”  I ventured  to 
say,  ‘ ‘ you  must  be  losing  a number  of 
your  slaves  on  such  long  Journeys. 
How  many  do  you  generally  get  alive 
to  Bihe  out  of  every  ten  you  bring  from 
so  far  inland?”  “Well,”  he  replied, 
‘ ‘ they  vary  a good  deal,  from  some 
districts  they  are  hardier  than  from 
others.  If  we  are  lucky  we  may  get 
six  out  of  every  ten  alive  to  Bih6, 
and  if  unlucky,  perhaps  only  three  out 
of  ten  ! ” 

Another  day,  walking  along  in  the 
midst  of  the  crowd  of  slaves,  I heard 
shrieks  ahead  of  me,  and  running  up, 
I saw  a woman  slave,  with  a very  badly- 
swollen  leg,  receiving  a thrashing  for  not 
going  quicker.  Needless  to  say  I soon 
had  the  man’s  stick  out  of  his  hand ; 
but  of  what  use  ? — next  day  the  man 
had  a ‘ ‘ chicotte  ’ ’ with  which  to  ‘ ‘ help  ” 


i8o  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 

her  along.  I watched  over  this  poor 
woman  for  some  days  fearing  she  might 
meet  with  a violent  death — if  her  strength 
failed  her  to  march  along — or  what  was 
even  worse,  left  half-killed  on  the  path 
to  die  miserably  like  many  others.  One 
day  I had  gone  a little  ahead  and  entered 
camp.  As  the  long  string  of  slaves 
passed  by  me,  I looked  at  each  one  to  see 
whether  the  old  woman  had  come  along  ; 
I missed  her,  and  so  I went  back  a short 
distance  and  found  her  sitting  on  the 
ground  near  a stream,  evidently  unable 
to  climb  the  hill  ahead  of  her,  and  over 
her  was  her  owner,  axe  in  hand,  un- 
questionably threatening  her,  but  as  soon 
he  noticed  me  he  took  up  a stick  and 
innocently  whittled  at  that.  Eventually 
I missed  the  old  woman  from  the  caravan, 
and  was  told  later  on  that  she  was  left 
behind  in  camp — by  herself,  of  course — 
in  a helpless  condition  and  without  food 
— there  to  perish  miserably.  We  had 
meanwhile  marched  on  and  could  not 


MORTALITY  ON  JOURNEY  i8i 


turn  back  to  find  out  whether  assistance 
might  be  in  time. 

No  Diminution  of  the  Trade 

Now  if  this  particular  kind  of  trade  in 
slaves  has  of  recent  years  greatly  di- 
minished, it  is  by  no  means  because  of 
any  action  taken  against  it  by  the 
Portuguese  authorities.  In  proof  of  this 
I may  mention  that  on  October  6th,  1905, 
I wrote  a letter  to  the  Commandant  of 
the  Portuguese  Fort  at  Nakandundu 
informing  him  that  a caravan  of  slaves 
was  passing  some  two  to  three  miles  to 
the  south  of  the  Fort  on  their  way  West. 
A reply  came  back  from  the  sergeant — 
a white  man — saying  the  Commandant 
(his  superior  officer)  was  away  and  that 
he  (the  sergeant)  had  no  orders  to  act  in 
such  matters. 

As  far  as  the  Portuguese  authorities, 
or  at  least  their  representatives  in  the 
interior  of  Angola,  are  concerned,  it  would 
go  on  to  this  day  on  the  same  lines. 


i82 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Really  the  trade  goes  on  as  much  as 
ever,  though  under  somewhat  altered 
conditions,  and  what  changes  have  taken 
place  in  the  trade  have  been  brought 
about  by  outside  influences.  First — the 
former  hunting  fields  for  slaves  have 
gradually  become  impracticable  through 
the  closer  occupation  by  the  respective 
European  Powers  of  their  possessions. 
Again  and  again  did  Bihe  traders  attempt 
to  slip  in  between  Government  posts  of 
the  Congo  State,  and  even  in  Rhodesia, 
with  some  success  at  first,  but  as  time 
went  on  with  less  and  less,  until  at  last 
the  risks  became  too  great.  This  was 
not  effected,  however,  until  numbers  of 
slave  dealers  had  met  their  death  in  the 
Congo  Free  State,  and  even  in  some  cases 
in  Rhodesia. 

White  Traders  Ousting  Native  Dealers 

The  second  reason  why  to-day  such 
large  caravans  of  slaves  are  seldom  met 
with  is  that  since  1902-1903  white  Portu- 


OUSTING  NATIVE  DEALERS  183 


guese  traders  have  to  a great  extent 
ousted  the  itinerating  native  Bihean. 
To-day  trading-stations,  manned  by  white 
traders,  are  established  all  along  the 
eastern  boundary  of  Angola — especially 
on  the  Congo  Free  State  boundary. 
Travelling  is  safer,  and  large  caravans 
for  mutual  protection  are  no  longer 
necessary,  so  that  these  white  traders 
can  send  small  batches  of  slaves  mixed 
in  amongst  the  free  and  paid  carriers  who 
take  their  rubber  out  west.  The  paid 
carriers,  who  are  free  men,  are  often 
given  the  charge  of  a few  slaves,  and  are 
made  responsible  for  their  safe  delivery. 
They  will  generally  secure  them  in  the 
shackles  at  night,  but  not  often  will  they 
rope  them  together  on  the  march.  The 
shackles,  which  formerly  were  carried 
openly  by  the  slaves  on  the  top  of  their 
loads,  are  now  generally  packed  in  sack- 
ing, so  that  to  the  uninitiated  the  detec- 
tion of  slaves,  when  on  the  march,  is 
a difficult  matter.  But  though  sent  in 


i84  the  slavery  OF  TO-DAY 

smaller  batches,  there  has  not  been  any 
diminution  of  the  trade. 

Rebel  Soldiers  as  Slave  Dealers 

It  may  be  asked  where  do  the  slaves 
now  come  from,  seeing  that  many  of 
the  former  sources  of  supply  have 
stopped.  Many  come  from  the  Congo 
Free  State,  that  is  to  say,  that  portion 
of  it  which  is  near  the  boundary  of 
Angola,  where  slaves  are  still  being 
obtained.  For  some  years  past  quite 
a large  body  of  rebel  soldiers  have 
apparently  had  the  free  run  of  a large 
tract  of  country,  enslaving  numbers  of 
natives  who  are  entirely  at  their  mercy 
on  account  of  their  superior  weapons. 
A number  of  the  rebels  are  cannibals,  and 
most  revolting  stories  of  their  deeds 
frequently  come  to  my  ears.  It  is  these 
men  who  furnish  quite  a number  of 
slaves  for  the  Angola  slave  trader.  Some 
time  ago  they  sent  15-16  slaves  for  sale 
to  the  head  village  of  Nakandundu. 


REBEL  SOLDIERS  AS  DEALERS  185 


That  village  is  only  two  to  three  miles 
from  the  Portuguese  Fort,  and  yet  all 
the  slaves  were  disposed  of.  Later  on 
I had  occasion  to  converse  with  a young 
man  who  was  then  sold  to  a native  living 
near  our  station.  He  told  me  of  his 
capture  by  the  rebels  (re voltes),  and  of 
his  being  roped  to  another  young  man. 
Both  had  an  arm  scratched  and  their 
blood  tasted.  My  informant  naively 
added  : — “My  blood  was  not  sweet,  so  I 
was  sold ; my  companion’s  blood  was 
sweet,  so  he  was  killed,  cooked,  and 
eaten  ! ’ ’ 

On  another  occasion  I spoke  to  a 
young  woman  who  also  had  been 
caught  by  the  ‘ ‘ revolt^s  ’ ’ and  sold 
by  them  at  Nakandundu.  Several 
long  scars  across  her  back  spoke  plainly 
of  the  treatment  she  had  received  at 
their  hands. 

It  is  with  these  rebels  that  the  Portu- 
guese traders,  who  are  established  on 
the  Congo  State  boundary,  have  con- 


i86 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


tinual  dealings  in  slaves.  That  part  of 
the  purchase  price  is  paid  in  rifles  and 
ammunition  I have  often  been  told  by 
natives,  and  although  I cannot  prove 
that  statement,  I believe  it  to  be  true. 
From  ten  to  twenty  slaves  are  reported 
to  be  given  in  return  for  one  repeating 
rifle,  and  one  slave  for  every  ten  cartridges. 
One  of  my  native  assistants,  a convert  of 
many  years’  standing,  has  informed  me 
that  he  saw  a large  pile  of  shackles  outside 
a Portuguese  trader’s  house  on  the  Congo 
State  boundary,  the  man  himself  having 
only  a few  days  previously  left  with  the 
slaves  for  the  West  Coast. 

On  25th  June,  1908,  I met  on  the 
Luachi  River  some  men  returning  from 
the  Sambu  country  (C.  F.  S.)  to  Nak- 
andundu  with  four  or  five  slaves  they 
had  bought  there  for  a trader  living  at 
Nakandundu  who  had  sent  them  to  buy 
them  for  him.  The  same  trader  had, 
a week  previously,  sent  from  his  trading 
station  at  Nakandundu  seven  slaves  out 


REBEL  SOLDIERS  AS  DEALERS  187 


West  under  the  care  of  a native  named 
Chipala. 

Need  I multiply  instances  to  prove 
that  the  Angola  slave  trade  is  being  kept 
up  by  the  raids  of  the  cannibal  rebels  on 
hapless  natives  whose  means  of  self- 
defence  are  inadequate  against  repeating 
rifles  ? 

Credit  System  Conducive  to  Slavery 

But  there  is  yet  another  source  for 
supplying  the  slave  market.  The  system 
of  allowing  white  traders  and  black 
soldiers  to  induce  natives  to  accept  trade 
goods  on  credit  is  responsible  for  large 
numbers  of  slaves  coming  on  to  the  market. 
The  Commanders  of  the  Forts  give  all 
such  creditors  a free  hand  to  enslave  the 
debtors  or  their  relatives.  More  often 
than  not  the  amount  to  be  paid  back  by 
the  debtors  is  raised  far  above  the 
original  agreement,  and  never-ending  dis- 
putes arise  from  this,  and  many  slaves 
are  produced  in  this  way.  The  fact  is. 


i88 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


that  slaves  are  ‘ ‘ made  to  order  ’ ’ by 
this  system  of  tempting  the  natives  with 
trade  goods  on  credit. 

In  one  instance  a Portuguese  trader, 

Snr. , had  captured  nine  women 

because  of  a debt  due  to  him  by  someone 
in  their  village.  The  people  refused  to 
pay  on  the  ground  that  ‘ ‘ he  had  killed 
a man  by  shooting  him.”  I am  not 
certain  whether  he  shot  the  man  who 
owed  him  the  goods  or  one  of  his  relatives. 
The  people  appealed  to  me  to  bring  the 
matter  before  the  Commandant  of  the 
Nakandundu  Fort.  I acceded  to  their 
request,  and  the  trader  was  sent  for  and 
appeared  at  the  Fort  with  the  nine 
captmed  women.  He  was  given  the 
right,  and  told  to  keep  the  women  unless 
their  friends  cared  to  ransom  them. 
Again  I spoke  to  the  Commandant  on 
the  subject,  and  he  replied  that  the 
trader  had  of  course  a right  to  claim  the 
debts  and  to  recover  them  by  force  if 
the  people  failed  to  pay  otherwise.  ‘ ‘ But 


CREDIT  SYSTEM  AND  SLAVERY  189 


what  about  the  man  he  murdered  ? ’ ’ 
I asked.  “ That  has  nothing  to  do  with 
me,”  he  replied.  “That  village  lies 
across  the  watershed,  and  is  on  Belgian 
territory.”  Yet  the  nine  women  cap- 
tured in  the  same  village  he  allowed  him 
to  keep  ! 

On  one  occasion  the  same  officer  gave 
a large  tin  of  powder  (about  20-25  lbs. 
weight)  to  a native  of  Nakandundu,  with 
orders  to  procure  him  a slave  boy  for  it. 
After  some  delay  the  man  brought  him 
a young  woman  and  her  baby  as  pay- 
ment. The  officer  replied,  “ Take  her 
away,  I don’t  want  her,  I want  a boy.” 
A black  soldier  heard  of  this,  and  sug- 
gested keeping  the  woman  and  the  child 
for  himself,  and  that  he  would  buy  a boy 
and  give  him  to  the  officer  in  exchange. 
The  bargain  was  struck,  and  the  black 
soldier  handed  goods  to  a native  to  get 
him  a boy.  Upon  his  delivery  he  handed 
him  over  to  the  officer. 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


190 


Another  Shameful  System  of  Supply 

Another  shameful  system  of  furnishing 
the  slave  market  with  slaves  is  the 
encouragement  which  officials  give  to 
natives  to  bring  all  their  old  lawsuits  to 
the  Fort  for  litigation.  Many  such  law- 
suits, settled  according  to  native  laws 
years  before  the  occupation  of  the  country 
by  the  Portuguese,  have  recently  been 
dragged  into  the  Forts  to  be  settled  by 
the  officers.  In  not  a few  cases  the 
original  litigants  were  dead  and  their 
descendants  called  upon  to  pay  heavily  in 
slaves  and  cattle  for  crimes  of  which  they 
were  as  innocent  as  the  man  who  judged 
them.  The  cattle  are  generally  kept  by 
the  officers  as  their  perquisites,  and  the 
slaves  given  to  the  claimants.  Some  of 
the  slaves  may  be  kept  as  domestic  slaves, 
and  others  go  to  swell  the  coastward 
stream.  I know,  however,  of  instances 
where  the  officers  have  kept  slaves  who 
were  thus  obtained  for  themselves.  In 


ANOTHER  SYSTEM  OF  SUPPLY  191 


the  case  of  a man  named  Kofwali,  who 
was  condemned  to  pay  two  slaves,  one  ox, 
and  a quantity  of  trade  goods  at  the  Fort 
of  Nakandundu  for  being  the  nephew  of 
a man  who,  before  his  death,  was  the 
neighbour  of  a man  who  had  committed 
a crime.  The  coloured  sergeant  got  one 
slave  for  settling  the  crime,  the  claimant 
had  the  other  slave,  the  white  officer  who 
had  given  the  man  a severe  beating  with 
the  ‘ ‘ chicotte  ’ ’ got  the  ox  for  his  ex- 
ertions, and  the  soldier  some  of  the 
trade  goods  for  feeding  him  whilst  he 
was  a prisoner,  as  such  are  not  fed 
free  in  the  Fort. 

Yet  another  case — that  of  a man  named 
Samusole — who  lives  about  two  miles 
from  the  Fort  at  Nakandundu.  He  has 
a brother-in-law  named  Salimi  in  N.  W. 
Rhodesia.  At  this  latter  man’s  place 
some  two  or  three  years  ago,  three  British 
officials  captured  three  Portuguese  traders. 
The  latter  were  condemned  to  thirteen 
months’  imprisonment  for  selling  powder 


192 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TODAY 


in  N.  W.  Rhodesia.  The  charge  of  slave- 
trading could  not  be  proved  against  them 
as,  fortunately  for  them,  only  two  or  three 
days  previous  to  their  capture,  another 
trader  had  brought  the  slaves  away  to 
Nakandundu.  But  there  were  some  out- 
standing debts  owing  by  natives  there, 
and  the  trader  at  Nakandundu,  on  whose 
behalf  one  of  the  arrested  traders  had 
been  acting,  brought  a charge  against 
Salimi  at  the  Fort,  making  Salimi  re- 
sponsible for  the  debts.  But  Salimi  was 
in  N.  W.  Rhodesia,  and  could  not  be 
arrested  there.  Therefore  his  brother-in- 
law  (Samusole)  was  sent  for  by  the 
commander.  He  refused  to  appear  at 
the  Fort,  as  the  matter  did  not  concern 
him  at  all.  The  Fort  messenger  returned 
to  the  officer,  reporting  that  the  man 
refused  to  come,  and  that  he  had  used 
insulting  language.  In  the  middle  of  the 
following  night  Samusole’s  village  was 
surrounded  by  a white  officer  and  a 
number  of  black  soldiers,  and  Samusole 


Island  of  San  Thome  from  the  sea  (pp.  21,  29,  194) 

Tanding  stage,  San  Thome  (p.  156)  Men  slaves  on  board  s,s.  “ Ambaca,”  bound  for 

San  Thome  (p.  154) 


ANOTHER  SYSTEM  OF  SUPPLY  193 


was  arrested.  In  the  scuffle  a native  was 
seriously  injured.  Once  securely  inside 
the  Fort,  Samusole  was  beaten  every  day 
with  the  “ Chicotte,”  until  a few  days 
later  two  slaves  were  paid  to  the  officer  by 
Samusole’ s relatives.  These  were  accept- 
ed, and  the  daily  thrashings  ceased,  as 
the  officer’s  honour  had  been  fully  vindi- 
cated. However,  poor  Samusole  was  then 
told  that  he  would  not  be  released  until 
Salimi  had  fully  paid  for  all  the  out- 
standing debts,  these  amounting  to  a 
number  of  slaves,  a number  of  oxen,  and 
so  many  bales  of  rubber.  In  June  last, 
when  I left  the  place,  Samusole  was  still 
a prisoner. 

Many  further  instances  might  be  given, 
but  these  must  suffice  to  prove  how  the 
supply  of  slaves  is  maintained.  There  is 
a constant  demand  for  slaves  as  house- 
hold servants  to  the  Portuguese  in  the 
colony — a demand  for  them  on  the  sweet- 
potato  and  sugar-cane  plantations  near 
the  coast,  where  rum  is  manufactured — 

N 


194 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


a constant  demand  for  them  on  the  cocoa 
plantations  on  the  islands  of  S.  Thome, 

&C.  This  demand  must  be  met,  and  is 
met. 

“ Wc  must  have  Slaves — get  us  Slaves ! ” 

Before  closing  I must  make  reference 
to  the  inquiry  held  in  Angola  after  the 
suppression  of  the  Bailundu  rebellion  in 
1902.  This  was  carefully  and  justly 
conducted,  and  large  numbers  of  slaves 
liberated  and  not  a few  Portuguese 
officials  and  traders  condemned  to  im- 
prisonment for  sundry  offences.  It  looked 
as  if  at  length  the  abominable  slave  trade 
would  come  to  a speedy  end.  Yet  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  although  large 
numbers  were  liberated  hardly  any  of 
them  reached  their  homes — these  were 
too  far  off.  Numbers  settled  down  near 
the  most  interior  Forts  of  Angola,  near 
some  Mission  Station,  or  with  some 
friendly  chief.  They  cultivated  fields, 
and  by  selling  their  produce  sought  to 


“ WE  MUST  HA  VE  SLA  VES  ! ” 


195 


earn  their  livelihood.  At  Nakandundu 
a number  of  them  lived  for  two  or  three 
years  under  the  shadow  of  the  Fort,  and 
some  were  occasionally  given  employ- 
ment by  the  officer.  On  20th  June,  190®, 
all  of  a sudden,  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
they  were  captured  by  the  Commandant 
and  his  soldiers  and  sent  back  to  the  West, 
like  criminals,  tied  in  pairs,  and  escorted 
by  soldiers  with  loaded  rifles.  The  crime 
of  which  they  were  accused  was  ‘ ‘ run- 
ning away  and  breaking  their  contracts,” 
Yet,  for  over  two  years,  they  had  been 
living  close  to  the  Fort,  evidently  con- 
sidering themselves  liberated,  as  every- 
body else  did.  Another  crowd  had  settled 
down  on  the  Zambezi  River,  near  the 
Kazombo  Mission  Station.  A native  chief 
was  sent  from  Nakandundu  to  arrest 
them,  but  they  fled  before  they  could  be 
captured. 

On  19th  November,  1906,  a still  larger 
crowd  of  them,  numbering  altogether  over 
fifty  souls,  were  brought  in  to  the  Fort. 


196 


THE  SLA  VERY  OF  TO-DA  Y 


They  had  settled  down  with  a native 
chief  inside  the  Congo  watershed,  and 
could  not  be  arrested  there.  By  some 
trickery  they  were  induced  to  come  on 
to  a plain  which  forms  the  watershed,  and 
there  the  lot  were  arrested.  On  23rd 
November  twenty  men  were  marched 
past  the  Kavungu  Mission  Station  on 
their  way  west.  Many  of  them  had  their 
heads  fixed  in  slave  yokes,  and  three  were 
chained.  Some  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren followed  their  husbands  and  fathers, 
and  others  were  kept  at  the  Fort.  The 
usual  escort  of  soldiers  under  a white 
corporal  went  with  them.  Five  other 
white  officers  and  some  traders  accom- 
panied them  a short  distance — apparently 
to  them  it  was  a sight  to  feast  their  eyes 
on.  If  these  people  had  run  away  and 
broken  their  contracts  (?)  why  were  they 
in  the  first  instance  allowed  to  pass 
several  Forts,  and  to  establish  themselves 
near  Forts  ? If  they  were  liberated  at 
the  time  of  the  ‘ ‘ Royal  Commission  ’ ’ 


“ WE  MUST  HA  VE  SLA  VES  ! ” 


197 


how  is  it  that  they  were  re-captured  as 
criminals  ? 

Last  June,  before  leaving  Kavungu  for 
home,  some  natives  told  me  that  a 
Portuguese  trader  there  had  sent  out 
word  that  letters  had  come  from  the 
coast  with  orders  for  slaves,  and  that  the 
natives  were  to  bring  him  slaves.  This 
seems  to  be  the  motto — “ We  want 
slaves,  we  must  have  slaves — get  us 
slaves ! ! ” 


Conclusions 

In  looking  carefully  through  the  fore- 
going cases  it  will  be  seen  how  many  and 
varied  are  the  means  used  to  get  possession 
of  the  domestic  slaves  of  the  natives  and 
also  of  those  who  are  not  slaves  in  any 
sense  of  the  word. 

The  officials  may  put  forward  the  old- 
time  plea  that  all  the  cases  mentioned 
are  ‘ ‘ abuses,  ’ ’ for  which  the  authorities 
cannot  be  held  responsible.  But  how 
comes  it,  if  these  are  abuses  in  the  manner 


igS  THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


of  ‘ ‘ recruiting,  ’ ’ that  when  these  natives 
eventually  reach  the  coast  they  are 
shipped  off  to  the  islands  as  going  “ of 
their  own  free-will,”  and  none  are  dis- 
covered as  going  contrary  to  their  will  ? 
Does  it  not  look  as  though  there  were 
just  as  many  “abuses”  in  the  official 
machinery  at  the  coast  as  anywhere  else  ? 

The  Crux  of  the  Question 

Here  is  really  the  crux  of  the  whole 
matter.  If  the  officials  at  the  coast  were 
to  do  their  duty  fairly  and  squarely,  the 
nefarious  traffic  would  die  a natural 
death.  Let  the  authorities  see  to  it  that 
no  one  hold  a servi9al  without  a proper 
contract,  and  also  that  each  servi9al 
really  enters  upon  the  term  of  service  of 
his  own  free  will,  and  that  no  contract  is 
renewed  without  the  servi9al  being  again 
interrogated  as  to  his  desire — let  this 
really  be  done — and  not  the  mere  show 
of  doing  it  (sometimes  there  is  not  even 
this  shoiv)  and  things  will  right  themselves. 


THE  CRUX  OF  THE  QUESTION  199 


The  missionaries  and  other  foreigners 
in  the  country  are  expected  to  obey  the 
Portuguese  laws,  and  they  have  no 
desire  to  do  otherwise.  All  they  ask  in 
connection  with  this  question  is  that  the 
Portuguese  obey  their  own  laws.  Is  this 
unreasonable  ? They  do  not  ask  for  any 
change  in  the  law,  but  only  that  the  law 
be  faithfully  carried  out. 

It  was  also  thought  well  that  some 
effort  be  made  to  get  into  conversation 
with  the  servigaes  on  the  steamers  going 
to  the  islands,  and  to  find  out  (1)  Why 
they  left  their  homes  ? (2)  Did  they 

understand  where  they  were  going  ? (3) 

Were  they  going  voluntarily,  and  (4) 
What  understanding  have  they  of  the 
‘ ‘ contract  ” ? I think  these  points  are 
also  cleared  up. 

I had  also  to  find  out  if  there  was  any 
voluntary  recruiting.  In  all  my  ex- 
perience of  nearly  twenty-three  years 
I never  knew  of  any,  and  nobody  with 
whom  I have  met  ever  knew  of  any. 


200 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


Far  and  wide  I questioned  the  natives 
and  others  as  to  whether  they  ever  knew, 
or  heard  of  anyone  going  to  S.  Thome  of 
his  own  free  choice,  or  of  anyone  who 
had  been  brought  back  again  after  a term 
of  service,  and  the  answer  was  always 
a decided  negative.  It  was  sickening 
to  see  so  many  districts  which  were  well 
populated  six  years  ago,  now  entirely,  or 
almost  entirely,  without  a village.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  district  where  the  trader 
lives  from  whom  the  thirty-five  slaves  ran 
away.  (See  page  33.)  There  used  to  be 
twenty-six  or  twenty-seven  villages  there, 
but  when  I went  back  this  time  there  were 
only  two  or  three.  Many  have  been  made 
slavfes,  and  the  rest  have  fled  and  settled 
in  other  parts.  Though  the  foregoing 
cases  seem  numerous  they  are  really  only 
few  and  isolated,  comparatively  speaking. 
How  many  thousands  of  cases  there  must 
be  throughout  Angola  that  I and  my 
friends  have  never  heard  of  ! 

The  natives  tell  us  the  traders  often  say 


THE  CRUX  OF  THE  QUESTION  201 


to  them,  “We  are  the  true  men,  we  buy 
our  slaves,  but  the  missionaries  are 
thieves,  they  take  the  natives  without 
buying  them  ! ” 

A Remedy  Suggested 

Now  just  a very  brief  word  on  repatria- 
tion. We  must  all  acknowledge,  without 
hesitation,  that  this  question  is  not  an 
easy  one.  To  bring  hundreds  of  natives 
back  to  any  point  in  Angola  and  to  set 
them  adrift,  would  be  disastrous,  for  they 
would  just  become  a prey  for  other 
natives  and  unscrupulous  whites.  The 
fact  of  their  having  been  gathered  from 
so  many,  and  widely  distant,  parts  of  the 
Province  makes  it  impossible  to  put  each 
one  back  in  his  own  home  surroundings 
again. 

What  should  be  done,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  is  this : — The  repatriated  natives 
should  be  put  into  villages  in  some 
healthy  part  of  Angola  (preferably  in  the 
interior  away  from  the  pernicious  in- 


o 


202 


THE  SLAVERY  OF  TO-DAY 


fluences  of  life  near  the  coast),  where 
they  would  be  under  the  supervision  and 
protection  of  the  Government,  lest  at- 
tempts should  be  made  to  enslave  them 
again.  Of  course,  if  any  native  wished 
to  make  the  attempt  to  reach  his  own 
country  and  people  again,  and  was  willing 
to  take  the  risks,  he  should  not  be  hindered 
from  doing  so.  In  fact  the  Government 
should  help  him,  as  far  as  it  might  be  able, 
to  carry  out  his  desire. 

My  task  is  now  accomplished,  and  I 
pray  that  the  effort  to  bring  reliable 
information  before  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  the  public  generally,  may  be 
owned  of  God  and  help  towards  bringing 
speedy  relief  to  the  suffering  and  dying. 


“ open  thy  mouth  for  the  dumb,  in 
the  cause  of  such  as  are  left  desolate.” 
(Prov.  xxxi.  8,  R.v.) 

‘ ‘ If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  them  that 
are  drawn  unto  death,  and  those  that 
are  ready  to  be  slain  ; if  thou  sayest. 
Behold  we  knew  it  not ; doth  not  He 
that  pondereth  the  heart  consider  it  ? 
and  He  that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth  not 
He  know  it  ? and  shall  not  He  render  to 
every  man  according  to  his  works  ? ” 
(Prov.  xxiv.  11  and  12.) 


bV 

I' 


! 


I . 


DATE  DUE 


Demco.  Inc.  38-293 


■,( 


